The Decision

Zilkum and Ember looked on, waiting for Caerus' choice.

"Zilkum, I have decided. I will take my talents to the Conjuration arts," Caerus declared.

"Wonderful!"

Zilkum clapped his pale grey hands together and strands of yellow flowed out from his fingertips. They felt warm as they wrapped around Caerus, the strands weaved and tied themselves tighter. When the light faded Caerus had the similar blue cloak he saw others wearing with the stripe being purple in color. The flowing fabric felt soft to the touch, every movement felt easy in its spacious grasp.

"Ok this feels pretty nice actually. So that's it? I'm a wizard now?"

The table shook as the large leather-bound book that was almost knee height on Caerus was presented before him.

"We accept you as a new recruit, but you are not a wizard yet. This is the conjuror's grimoire. You must read, learn, and remember its contents. Only then can you move onto the next stage." Zilkum instructed.

Caerus felt a small tear run down his cheek, and his fingers wrapped around the small frame of Ember.

"You didn't tell me I had to study! I want a refund I want to change!" Caerus shook her within his grasp.

"You can't! A choice has been made, you need the right stuff and gold to branch into a different class," Ember said between shakes.

Caerus cursed and shook his hand as Ember lit up and escaped his grasp.

"If you take the teleportation circle on your right, it will take you to the dorms where you can study. We will also provide you with nourishment, a place to sleep, practice, and fully equipped hygienic services." Zilkum smiled.

Caerus felt defeated before he could begin. The book nearly dragged him to the floor as he slid it off the desk. His head down, arms shaking, he moped over to the circle.

After a flash of light, the white marble of the main hall vanished to make way for the warm rich look of bright woods. Dark green patterned carpets sat under the ornate furniture with filigree frames. A crystal structure that roamed above, glowed with oranges and reds as little flickers of flame danced within. Caerus dropped the book onto the lone table in the center of the sofas and chairs.

"Jesus Christ, like how many pages is this?" Caerus sighed.

The purple dyed leather binding was complimented with gold trim and the embossed title.

'Beasts, daemons, and the in-between: A conjuration guide.'

Caerus flicked through the pages but every page was blank, save the first few pages.

"What the hell? Ember what is this?"

Ember had been distracted by the flame-filled crystal until an apple just grazed past her back.

"That could have hurt Caerus! Friends don't do that." Ember's brows furrowed, flying up close to Caerus' face.

"I asked you a question. Why is ninety-nine percent of these pages blank?" Caerus stared back.

"A grimoire is a magically enchanted book, it will reveal more when you are ready for more." Ember turned away, arms crossed.

Caerus rolled his eyes, his fingers gripped tight to his scalp. He didn't come here to study, but now there was no other course for him. The room echoed back his sudden cry of frustration that covered up the sound of the cover against the table.

"Fine then, I'm going to summon a damn army that can't be stopped!" Caerus pumped his arms in the air with his declaration.

"Welcome conjuror to your first steps into the wonderful art. With time, effort, and a little luck you too can summon an army to do your bidding. From waging wars to cleaning your wizard tower. There is a summon for everything! Now let's go into what you will learn within this book."

Caerus sat and read under the glimmer of the flames. Different color lights began to dance through the room through the lone stained glass window. A stream of green light brushed over Ember, her eyes opened, arms stretched out.

"Caerus have you slept? It's already morning!"

Caerus' eyes had become filled with pinks and reds, his body hunched over the grimoire. Ember flew around his head, over the words that had absorbed his attention. His lips moved but he did not raise his gaze. A shriek that could shatter glass snapped him out of his focus.

"Where am I? What time is it? Is that daylight?" Caerus' head snapped around.

In one of the many doorways a woman stood, thick square glasses, black hair tied into long pigtails, and a long white nightgown that wouldn't look out of place in a Grandma's closet

"Who are you? Intruder! Intruder!" She began to scream.

"Wait I'm not an intruder! I just joined I'm new here!" Caerus began to wave his hands.

"A likely story! If you were new you would have already been here yesterday. Nobody comes to Godsland in the middle of the night."

"It's true Caerus here just arrived last night," Ember explained.

"You have even tricked a fairy into your lies. Intruder!"

"Miss Hina, Caerus here is not an intruder. He is a new acolyte same as you." The familiar slow voice of Zilkum came over a wooden box that hung in the corner of the room.

"Oh yes I see his cloak now," Hina said after removing her glasses.

"Why do you even wear those!" Caerus exclaimed.

"I apologize, I have bad eyesight. Would you like me to show you where to get breakfast?" Hina bowed.

At the mention of food Caerus' stomach began to growl and yell.

"That would be helpful, thank you."

After taking another teleportation circle, the two arrived at the food hall. Long tables and benches filled the majority of the room. Vegetables and fruits hung from baskets along the wall above tables of pre-prepared food. Bowls and tubs of oatmeals, broths, rice. Plates of meats, cheeses, and bread. All spread out with condiments and pitchers of various drinks.

Caerus wasted no time, and his plate became a tower of food all crammed together. It had felt like an age since he had any food, and it wasn't until he was halfway through the monstrous mess of food that he remembered he was in a game.

"This all tastes as it should. That's amazing, and I'm actually feeling less hungry. This 'place' is crazy," Caerus paused.

As soon as he tried to say game out loud he said place instead as if someone replaced the word as he said it.

"You tried to say the G-word, didn't you?" Hina said.

"What's with that?" Caerus said between mouthfuls of egg and bacon.

"To keep you immersed, you can't mention anything about this being you know. The system will replace the word. Otherwise, your brain will reject it and kick you out." Hina explained.

Caerus remembered Dr. Dolus explaining something similar. How the brain needs to accept it as reality for the simulation to take hold.

"So how far into the grimoire are you?" Hina raised a brow.

"I got through about twenty pages, it took ages! You really have to understand it, but once I figured out that the celestial, hel and bestial planes have their own wave signature of magic I began to make headway...Wait how do I remember this so well? I'm terrible at these things!" Caerus choked at the realization.

"Twenty pages! I only got through five. You must be really smart," Hina sighed.

"I'm really not. Honest." Caerus began to wave his hand in dismissal.

"What is your intelligence score currently at?"

"He is at a six!" Ember replied happily devouring a strawberry.

"Wait how? Depending on how you allocated your stats you could only max one stat out at 5." Hina scratched at her head.

"How can we talk about stats and not about you know what?" Caerus interjected.

"That's part of the reality in this world! He got it because he has zero luck due to letting the fates decide his stats." Ember replied.

"I heard about the rare case of this happening, but to think it was real! Six is very high for any stat when you join. That explains it, you must realize that in Godsland, the higher a stat the better you are at it. So with the intelligence of six, you are better at memorization and understanding information. If you have a higher charisma stat, for example, you become a lot more comfortable in social situations and are more apt at talking. Even if you were the shyest person before you arrived in Godsland," Hina explained.

"I'm really that smart?" Caerus still doubted it.

"Well then let's go see. How about we try that summon on page five?"

Hina led Caerus back to the dorm, behind one of the doors was an open room, stone floor, and a clear skylight that bathed the room in light. Shelves of various herbs, bones, and other things that resembled weird body parts caught his eye, as he remembered for some summons offerings must be made. Hina began to draw the circle, a faint glow of purple followed each chalk stroke.

"Careful that's a Hel mark from the sixth depth. How the heck do I know this?!?" Caerus shouted.

The two took their time to finish the summoning circle, a large circle with three adjoining circles that formed a triangle, each with bestial markings.

"Ok so with this, we should be able to perform a low-level beast summon." Hina took a few steps back.

Caerus stood in front of the circle, inspecting it one more time.

"Ok let's do this."

The needle he held pushed past the skin of his thumb with a pinch, a drop of blood fell into the first adjoined circle, with a drop placed on each.

"I, the outworlder known as Caerus. Call out to the plane of beasts. With a roar and a promise, will any answer my call?" Caerus recited.

A bright yellow light began to run around and fill the circle. The air became heavy as the circle began to pulsate with magical energy. Caerus let out a gasp, the air that filled his lungs escaped and the loud thump of his heart were all he could hear. The circle erupted in the light that had filled it. Caerus raised his arms, but a bright white had enveloped his sight. The air began to return to his lungs, his body throbbed with heat from his head to his toes. The white began to blur away, then the hum that filled his ears. The light had faded, and a shadow could be seen in the middle of the circle.

"What the hell is that!" Caerus exclaimed.