Lost in the capital.

A Faceless Existence

I took a step through the door and casually slid it closed behind me.

"the jobs finished." I took a seat, trying to keep my thoughts to myself. In front of me stood the seven student council members, me being the eighth. None of us ran in the same groups or ever talked outside of this. What is this, it is the monthly meeting we have to have.

I leant back on my chair, and as I tilted my head back, closing my eyes waiting for the hour to pass. I looked up, hoping to gaze off into the ceiling and hopefully daydream. The view changed. I was staring at a ceiling 30 feet up with huge arches. What… the ceiling should be nowhere near that tall. I gazed around to see what was going on, and a completely unfamiliar scene greeted me.

The walls were carved marble that reached up to the pitch-black ceiling with intricate alcoves carved into the walls. Each held a small green jade figure, that looked like a woman with a eagles head. In her hands was a flower. Might have been a rose.

"We summoned you here, Oh bringers of light." A booming voice assaulted me from behind. It rung throughout the room, causing me to jump a little. Just a second ago it had been deathly silent. The powerful projection came from an elderly man with straight white hair to his waist. His eyes glowed strongly and on his form arms looked like a curved black plate embedded in his skin. Looking at it made my arms itch. I reached out to satisfy the itch building in my arm. I hadn't broken eye contact with the man until a strange sensation met my fingers. It was cold and metallic. My gaze shot down, finally beaking the staring contest — terrifyingly the black plates where there; embedded deep below the skin. I looked at the other as they had noticed the object as well.

One of the girl's face contorted as she was about to scream.

"Please take your seats." His voice surged again, shattering the newly formed quiet. Creating tension that wouldn't let the poor girl scream. Wonder replaced the horrified expression as a black metallic table also began to build itself in front of us. It is surging into the correct shape then solidifying in defiance of any sciences that I could understand. With a few subtle glances at the others and we slowly took seats, there was a consensus that we had no fucking clue what was going on. Then the elderly man started speaking. As he went on, it became apparent that the speech was very practised. It told us that this situation had happened many times before. The way his speech rang; it had a peculiar effect that inspired pity and companion.

I needed to know what had happened and what was going on.

The key line was this 'we had moved to a different planet.' I had to take a moment to collect myself; the president, however, didn't bother. He jumped up a screamed bloody murder, but the older man just waited, patiently for him to die down. His eyes seemed dead as he looked at us. Those eyes unsettled us and made the president calm down faster than she normally would have. He pauses for a second, taking time to look at us individually before continuing.

Without all the emotional wordplay, this is what he was trying to convey. The process of summoning others had been done many times by different races since the method was discovered. The object was to bring beings from other worlds. The summoning did two things to these people. It Introduced new magic and technology to the planet using the knowledge they had brought. If the world you were summoned from were devoid of ether, it would create being with incredible potential. When we arrived, the ether surges into our bodies as air would into a vacuum; This, we were told, creates powerful and unpredictable abilities to form.

To sum up the world in simple terms, there were four main sentient races, and then various breeds within them like dogs and cats and the breeds within the species. Yes, I am aware that that is not very pc, but it got the point across.

Humanoids. Include al species that can mate and have offspring together.

Humans

Elves

Giants

Dwarfs

Dokken

A race united by there origin know as the dark dwellers. They came from the deep trenches that exist within the ocean. These species bread in much the same way as fish do.

Sirens

Hunters (whale)

Krakens

Demons, share the same black blood and two hearts. Their eyes will reflect this by being completely black. They cant produce offspring and only reproduce by infecting others and being created.

Litches

Wraiths

Serpentine

Vampires

Arachne

Common folk

Then there are the druids

These beings can be identified by looking at the roots of there hair. It will be made out of wood like substance. They are born from trees the creation of these is very complicated and restricted

Bird People

Centors

Minotaur

Orks

Trolls

To give a brief description of each race.

Humans… where well humans

Elves had long frail bodies, with green veins that gave their pale skin a subtle green glow.

Giants had the same ruff body proportions as humans but were around 5-10 feet tall. They live naturally short lives due to there hight, the average lifespan being 50.

Dwarfs had thick red skin and short height, around 3 feet.

Dokken. Have Pitch black skin and sharp nails as tough as strong bones.

For right now that's enough info on the races. The rest where all discussed, and we were taught about the plates embedded in our arms. It was effective an interface with the body to allow the conscious mind to have an in-depth understanding of the body. I was fiddling with it and had a look at the constitution and ether related changes.

At this point, I had already lost interest with this older man and was gazing out over the balcony. I wanted to leave and explore the world; it looked clear and fresh. The technology had already shown to be very advanced, and along with the use of magic, I wanted to see how societies had developed. I stood up and started to walk over to the balcony to get a better look.

"Hey what are you doing." It was the older man, but the change in tone startled me for a second. It sounded far more natural. And there was shock evident in his face.

"I want to leave," I stated flatly. But a look of surprise crossed everyone's faces.

"But aren't you going to help us." It sounded like his speech had never failed. And it was true the story was very compelling, who didn't want to be a hero.

"No." it was another flat response, but this time I decided to elaborate. "Personally, hearing the story and about the conflicts, it seems to be a problem with communication. There is a great amount of embedded hatred between your two nations: but as you let slip, there is no true reason for our races to hate each other.

"But you're one of the heroes. Summoned to protect." His face had a trace amount of anger at this point. I had a slight smile on my face after I saw this.

"If you wanted me to do something, you should have put a collar around my neck. But you need our help, not our servitude. You could never imprison people and expect their cooperation." I paused for a second to look at the others around the table; they turned away from me and started to look at the man.

Dought had been sowed in them so he would have to take some time to reassure them, which should give me long enough to escape. pUtting thee final place in the piece " beside you have seven others. They have heard your plight and seem far more willing."

"Wait for George, don't you feel the help them." The President glared daggers at me as she spoke. The others had turned back to me after this and were looking at me with a mix of outrage and disgust.

"No, but if you have chosen to stay and help, I'll remind you of something thing. A drowning man will always try to take someone down with him." And without further fanfare, I stepped out, leaving the hall. No one hindered me as I walked out. In a few minutes, I stepped into the city. I could sense that they would come after me once they had indoctrinated the others.

I slowly headed through the city. It was lively, street stalls outside shops and it wasn't just the main street you could hear the building a few streets over as well. The thing that occupied me the most, however, was the wall looming in the distance. I began to worry, thinking of the implication of it. I turned away and began to focus on those around me. The city was a strange mix of some of the humanoid races I had learnt off including no humanoid.

First thing I need was information and money. IT e=wan't hard to see that this world used a currency. I saw many people paying for food and clothing in the stalls. I decided to step into an inn in the street.

"Hey, Are you looking for a temp or to a full-time hire." But the man just shook his head. I tried that line at fifty places before the day was up. Ten places had an opening, but only two were willing to hire me. One was, and general goods store the other was an inn, on the quieter end of the main street.

I went to work in the inn. I had got the job while disguising myself as a woman I was at my whits end so decided to give it a go. With the job came a room but the cost would come out of my wage. The room was very small, but it was best to get a place I had to stay for the time being.

I had my bag with me as it was slung around my shoulder when we had arrived. The plug system here was different, but after pulling out the plug socket, I managed to connect the plug to it and could put my phone on charge the fuse didn't blow so the voltage must have been within an acceptable range. I hadn't brought much with me, but the laptop and fon was still a marvel of technology so it must have some uses. Other than that, I had a bottle of water and some snacks and a few notebooks. Without the wifi, I was stuck with the courses I had downloaded for uni.

Don't get me wrong advanced chemistry and biochemical engineering could come in handy. But I was still vastly limited with my knowledge. I let out a sigh and began to study the ether abilities I now had.

Given Names George Race Human

Titles Chaotic Neutral Level 0

Basic Skills Kinetic learner Extreme

Visual learner Extreme

Natural Energy Manipulation

Soul weapon

Shapeshifter

Learnt skills None

The displace also showed my body and any damage that it had or was receiving. The basic skills were the ones I was inborn with, and from the looks of it. I was designed to go to the battlefield. Kinetic learned to help me learn things that used the body faster than average. Visual learned was anything that required a visual stimulus. Such as learning languages or learning theory. Shapeshifter was self-explanatory but for broader than I initially thought. The other two I couldn't comprehend. I was told that these skills couldn't change, but the skills I learnt later could mutate once you gained enough experience in using them. I let out a sigh and went to sleep; there was nothing else to do for today.

The next day I was weighing tables and preparing simple salads at the edge of the kitchen. The work was monotonous, but I was able to zone out for most of the day. The inn would be open to customers during the whole day, but the guest could only be served from 10 am to 2 pm the kitchen closing for 2 hours then from 4 pm till 10 am. The barmen were active all houres and bouncers handle the rest of the night until two-ish. During the lunch break, I decided to have a look outside the wall.

And what I saw was a land unlike I had ever imagined. Giant trees stretched kilometre into the sky. The leaves have huge expenses over vast plains. Colossal beast roamed crushing the forests underfoot, but unable to hold a candle to the giant trees. Looking closer to the ground, you could see it teeming with life. Seeing the giants alone, I understood why the wall stood at a decent 50 meters.

I turned to a guard on the wall.

"do people hunt those." Pointing over to one of the colossal beasts. I had heard brief stories from the barmen about the hunters that made a living of bringing in these huge bodies. The guard looked at me; then his face lit up as he began.

"Some of the animals collect or eat rare materials to build those strong bodies. Or certain parts can be used for medicine. Aswell the brain and spinal fluid can be used to obtain skills. And once you find a core, you can use it to create a magic weapon or maybe a living one. It's one of the best ways to make a living if you can put up with a little danger." He then let out a long breath. You could see his eyes still sparkling; he must look up to the people who hunt them like a group of heroes. I couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. He saw this, and his face immediately fell. But as I gazed back out to the plains, the wonder and adventurous spirit still deeply rooted in me. He boldly stepped forward, with a slight hesitation began to speak again.

"Hey, I'm a decent soldier, why don't you come back after my shift, and ill teach you some basics."

"Sure, but I have a job, so I can only get here for around ten-ish." I wasn't sure why he was helping me, but if we met here near the guard post, I was confident it wouldn't be for anything illegal.

"Let's meet at ten then. I'm Callise." He held out a hand, and I shake it.

Later after the shift had ended, I had met with Callise while I was male, so I changed back and headed over to the wall.

"Heya, I ran over here, so I'm ready to get started." I was a little eager to get started.

"Okay, First I'm going to see how you handle yourself." It was clear from his posture before I had arrived that he didn't think I was going to show up again. He let out a breath. He then hurled himself toward me. He feet moved strangely as he rushed towards me. The sword in his hand pointed to the sky then came chopping down — all of this in a very quick move.

But for some reason, I could understand how he was moving. So copied his footsteps and moved back. His sword had missed, but that didn't phase him as he immediately moved his legs to counter the force of the blade and sent a jab towards my chest. But I was watching very closely this time and on instinct moved. The jab moved away from my chest as I shifted slightly and sent the mirroring jab towards his chest.

This movement felt as if I had been fighting for years. But I had lost focus for a second. Callise used the blade to parry mine, then grabbing my wrist, used my momentum to through me over his shoulder. I hit the ground, Hard. "what was that you used the same footstep technique and jab at me." As he looked at me accusingly, I got to my feet and moved my shoulders.

"I just saw what you did, and it felt natural to move in that way." I had that feeling about the throw he had just used as well.

"What are your skills." His question was a little to blunt, and my face contorted a little. "right, my bad, I should say do you have learning type skill." The newly phrased question gave me a little wiggle room. Reluctantly I spoke.

"Yeah. Its related to body experience" I felt like visual learner had not been activated during the sparring, so I decided to keep as many skills as I could to myself.

He had a thoughtful look on his face. "So you could also learn the through I just used." Before I had a chance to understand what he was saying, he lunged at me fully. But I could understand the weakness in his movements this time. I moved instinctually as I had earlier, and swung him over my shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

He started wildly laughing at this point, it was like he found hope, or it was his first time seeing the sun. Small tears start to fall from his eyes. He stood up soundly and then stopped moving, just stood there studying my face looking for something. It made me very uncomfortable like something running across my skin.

He seemed to find something then let out a sigh. "you see I have three skills. Teacher, understanding and bonding." He looked very proud for a moment, so I guess to have more than one basic skill was impressive. "The understanding Skill can let me understand a person and how I will get on with them. Then I can share what I have learnt and bond with someone to grow with them."

"I had an agreement once." He paused ever so slightly, "I bond with them then they share their experience with me, and I can use it like it was my own. Then we can both learn twice a fast as normal. And with your skill, it would be many times faster." He held his breath again. "will you make this agreement with me."

"What's the catch." If he could make this bond, he could along with a few hundred others accelerate at an astronomical pace, so why offer to me alone. As well we just met I had no idea about his motives.

"I can only teach one person at a time, and throughout my whole life, I can only bond to three separate people, the first person I was bonded to has died." He paused, "we can both experience the emotion we feel towards each other." It sounded quite invasive, but it would make it easier to trust him in a shorter amount of time but…

I halted, if he actively taught me, I could gain skills faster, and with my skills, I can perfect the skill very quickly and give it back to him. He could advance it to the next level, and I would perfect this. "Alright, but no secrets. If I find something I don't like, I will kill you or die trying." I held out a hand, and he shook it. It was very risky, but I was eventually going to be hunted by the king. I k=need to get stronger so I could get out of the city faster.

With a lighter heart, I spoke. "Let's get to work then." After he held out his hand and cut it with a small blade, then grabbing my hand, he grabbed mine and made the same cut. He held his hand up to my mouth and took mine in his. Then he bit down, as a reflex, I bit down as well. My teeth easily cutting through his flesh. Then I toppled back as a grey light covered my eyes, and I lost consciousness

I woke up around an hour later. But he hadn't woken up yet, so I went to check up on my stats.

Given Names George Race: Humanoid

Titles Chaotic Neutral Level 3

Basic Skills Kinetic learner Extreme

Visual learner Extreme

Natural Energy Manipulation

Soul weapon

Shapeshifter

Learnt skills Shadow steps (movement skill) lv!

Basic blade combat

Basic hand-to-hand

I was a little worried about my race changing to humanoid, but after looking my self over, I couldn't find any change. I could vaguely sense the feeling that he was directing at me even while asleep. And I could tell what he felt from me distrust, and impatience. It made sense I was on the clock to get out of the city, looking back over my stats I looked a the Race. Not being completely human bugged me. He slowly sat up, "what should we do now. (me)" I was a little annoyed at being knocked out as well, and he could feel it. But, this was still very beneficial for me.

"First we have to teach you everything I know, once that is done we will begin to learn and perfect other things." With that, he took a stance, and we started to fight again. I put my anger into it; we quickly started to make progress. While I was learning, I also discovered how he learnt about these things, most of what callise taught to me were the basics. It was the basic requirement that guards learnt so that they would be able to protect the city.

He was 19, and I was 17, so he was very young to have mastered these basics. But with both of us working together, he would be considered even more of a genius. We worked late into the night. And eventually, I went back to the inn, completely exhausted but very happy.

And that was how a month passed by. MY poster did get put up eventually, but I wasn't using that face anymore. The usual day went like this; I would wake up around eight am get simple chores like laundry and cleaning done for my little room. I went for a run if I had 15 minutes. Then a ten work would start. Thanks to my learner skills, I had mastered what they had taught me and was flawless within the first few days.

At two, I would grab some lunch and head over to a library just up the street, to do some reading and to study the world's science. They were about equal to our level of science, but the understanding of natural laws and magic. So I would read up and learn, not about magic because that information was restricted, but about theories, history and studies related. The individual spells were restricted, much like companies hiding there technology. But there was quite a lot of reading still to be done.

It was back to work and then out in the evening for the physical training with callise. This would last until around 2 am when I would stumble back to bed and fall into sleep. It was a stringent routine, but also very fulfilling as it was all new and interesting to learn.

I was being paid an average of 40 draks and hour. And for the place I was renting was around 980 draks a week. With 40 draks being just enough for a conservative meal. It seemed a fair price for roughly the centre of the city. The apartment wasn't big and was disconnected from the inn. The Boss hadn't been able to rent it out in a while, so it was usually used as a short stay area for the staff, but since he could rent it, he was happy.

After the first month, we had perfected both the guard's skill to the advanced level. And shadow steps had been masted and could be levelled. Thanks to my studying we had a good understanding of any creatures that could be hunted, and callise being a guard was able to buy skills from the army shop, we had decided to set our sights on a ranged skill as well as a skill that could manipulate internal energy.

He returned later that day with four pills, the heart and brain pills for two skills. One was called mystic knives, which were a technique for throwing knives; the other was called honded battle edge; They where basic skills that could be upgraded since only the rich would buy the upgraded skills because they were very expensive. I had eaten them not knowing how disgusting they where, and almost threw up, but that would have been an extraordinary waste of our money. I shot him a dirty look as I took his legs out from under him, and he hit the ground hard.

True they were disgusting, the problem came with the complexity of the two skills, they were very hard to master. In the end, it took us two months to get both to the peak of level one. Considering people without an affinity for this skill normally took a few years to get to this point, callise was still ecstatic.

But now we were finally ready to leave the city and start hunting monsters. We had a few days to prepare, and during this time I went and bought some equipment, we would need; Two separate sets of kevlar armour. Due to the two forms, I had of Ivy and George. Along with a set of conductive throwing knives and a double-edged sword.

Callise went off early in the morning, we had chosen to go outside and the inn I had been working at through a little going away party for me. I had been with them for around three months. Boss agreed that I could continue to rent out the apartment as long as I helped out at the shop on my days of monster hunting.

I was fairly sure he was going to miss my company during the day, so wanted me to stay. He had started to treat me like a daughter after the first month or so. And it was very comfortable. This inn was starting to become a little family I had formed and; I was sad that I wouldn't be working here a mush anymore.

I met callise outside the gate management.

You have the minimum to venture outside the city." A senior looking woman sat at a desk. She looked terrible bored and slightly annoyed as she looked down to us.

"yes," Callise said and began to show the items as he listed them.

Both digital and physical maps of the surrounding area. Along with solar chargers for the location and destress devises. 2 level 8 swords and 16 levels, seven throwing knives cover our combat requirement. Subscription to the hunter emergency updates, and a permit to sell materials upon return to the city, lastly was climbing equipment.

This equipment was all designed and required so that people couldn't randomly walk outside the city and die. Either you have the equipment, or you hire a team to guide you, there was no other way to get out of the city. Unless you jumped off the wall. But if you could survive the fall, they wouldn't ask questions.

But know as the gates opened we were ready to go.