Chapter Seven

"Right next to it?" Edward gasped. Maester Theodore nodded, though his expression was solemn and nervous. Edward retracted his hand from the purple orb before him and turned his body toward the old man, his shoulders shaking in excitement.

"It would be dangerous. If you find yourself dying in a dungeon, you'll be transported directly to the entrance, whether you have the Origin or not," Theodore explained, "If I teleport you there, you'll have to find the Origin as fast as you can. If you die before then, you'll be stranded in the middle of nowhere with no help at all."

"And if I die with the Origin?" Edward asked. Theodore chuckled.

"You'll still be in the middle of nowhere, but at least you'll have accomplished your goal," Theodore answered, "Do you wish to ask any more questions, or would you like me to teleport you now?"

"Already? Good!" Edward smiled with glee. Theodore smiled once more, then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, Edward found his work uniform disappearing in a flash of light. As the light around his body disappeared, he was surprised to find his body wearing an entirely new set of clothes.

He no longer donned his work uniform in the waiting room with Theodore but wore a set of leather armor instead. Strapped to his waist was a sheathed iron sword— though Edward hoped he wouldn't have to use it anytime soon.

"This should help a little bit, though I won't be able to provide you with anything else," Theodore said. Edward smiled, then nodded his head. As Theodore raised both hands, a string of golden light suddenly appeared between each of his fingers. Edward felt a warm feeling rise from his stomach to his heart— 'probably Theodore's doing,' Edward assumed, "Choose: Kinetic or Blood? Kinetic may be easier to find but won't be as powerful."

"Is there any reason to ask?" Edward chuckled, "Blood!"

Theodore smiled again, "The closest I can teleport you is within fifty feet. When you awake, start looking around. You'll be able to access your status menu by simply thinking of it, though you'll be disappointed to find the lack of an inventory— for the time being."

'Time being? Will that be included in a future update?' Edward thought to himself. His question went unanswered. Theodore put his hands together as the strings between his fingers grew as thick as the fingers themselves. The warmth located near Edward's heart became hot and fierce.

"Good luck!" Theodore's voice rang as Edward's vision was overtaken by a screen of golden light.

As Edward opened his eyes, he found himself standing in the center of a large cave system. As he turned his head, he felt the chill cold of the tunnel's wind fly through his hair. The existence of this wind chilled him to his bones, but he didn't show it. There were dozens of tunnels leading away from his current location and one that led directly into the ceiling above him.

Edward quickly unsheathed his sword and gripped it tight. He was surprised to find it much lighter than he expected. He twirled the hilt in his hand for a moment before he lowered the weapon back into his sheath. He wasn't sure how sensitive the monsters in this dungeon were, but he assumed they wouldn't like it when he showed them a weapon.

'This game truly is amazing,' Edward thought to himself as he looked around him. For the next few seconds, he used all of his senses to inspect the environment in his surroundings. His eyes had already seen everything around him- but he also wanted to know how his sense of smell and touch worked here. He crouched down and slid the tips of his fingers against the stone floor.

He felt the bumpy texture of the rock below him and gasped. Then, he took a small rock in his fingers and threw it in his open mouth. He was surprised to find it tasting exactly as he expected: Horrible!

"Even our sense of taste works?" Edward spat as the rock fell from his mouth back to the ground. He didn't even care if his mouth might've still had some residual dirt in it. This news was incredible! Heavy eaters would have a field day with this game! Eat as much as you want and never have to worry about gaining weight! He could even tell his nose worked as well, as he could smell how old the air here was. 

Edward quickly opened his status menu.

︽

Lvl:1

XP: 0%

Title: None

—

HP: 5

MP: 5

SP: 5

HUNG: 5/5

—

DMG: (Iron Sword) 6

DEF: (Leather Armor) 6

—

POW: 1

AGI: 1

END: 1

WIS: 1

LUC: 1

︾

"Ugh, my stats are horrible," Edward muttered as he looked at the screen. He quickly read everything available but was surprised to find his brain filled with relevant information as his eyes scanned over the words. Without even needing a second explanation, he soon knew what his five aspects did and what they affected.

Power affected his Damage attribute as well as how much he could carry. With every additional stat boost, he would do an additional point of physical damage and would be capable of carrying an additional two and a half pounds on his person.

Agility affected his speed and his stamina. With every point, he would run an additional one and a half feet per second and gain five stamina.

Endurance affected his Health and max hunger, adding five points per stat boost. His hunger would decrease by one point every hour, and he only refilled it when he ate. When his avatar ran out, he wouldn't regenerate Stamina anymore. If he chose not to wear armor, his current defense would equal half that of his Endurance.

Wisdom affected his Mana and how much damage he could deal with spells. Every point increased his Mana by five and dealt one damage per point.

His luck affected the likelihood of drop percentages and how likely enemies were to notice him, but he didn't know how exact the effect was.