I_am_mc2

Song of the Forgotten is a complex story centered around the journey of the main character to become stronger, but focused on the emotional ties and bonds he forms. Rather than a one-sided view of a protagonist mindlessly getting more powerful for the sake of it, Song of the Forgotten explores the motivations and unconscious desires that spur our actions, with compelling questions and multi-faceted characters.


This is the first proper novel I have written, so any feedback and comments are welcome. Thank you!

Song of the Forgotten

A slip of paper appeared before my eyes and began to descend slowly toward the ground.

I snatched the paper out of the air, only to find two sentences in neat handwriting.

'Keep it up! You might be comparable to an average human if your results continue to improve.'

I ripped up the paper, resisting the urge to scream every curse word within my extensive vocabulary.

"Please begin the next test." I uttered through gritted my teeth.

"Proceeding to the Trial of Wisdom."

Then everything went black once more.

____________________________________________

After I could finally open my eyes, I found a set of simplistic puzzles before me. I gleefully decimated them one after another, grinning in satisfaction at the prospect of being able to shut the accursed voice up for once. Unfortunately, my joy didn't last long. The puzzles rapidly got harder and harder, until I was finally forced to admit defeat.

"The contestant has been judged to have a wisdom of W=1.63. Congratulations on your achievement!" said the voice, sounding surprisingly sincere.

"Why are you being so nice?" I questioned.

"This appears to be the first time that the contestant has scored above an average human in any field." it replied.

I coughed up blood at the incredible backhanded compliment it had bestowed upon me. Then I swore at it for a solid five minutes, only to be met with the following response.

"The contestant is advised to seek peace and calm. Anger has been found to interfere with rational thinking."

After recovering from the damage I had received from the System, I proceeded to the next part of the challenge, which was in relation to the knowledge I possessed. I did extremely well on this one and for once there were no snarky comments from the System.

Unfortunately, the next test was giving advice or recommending a course of action in a variety of situations, which I did not do well in at all. In my defense, I rarely interacted with people which resulted in me indirectly insulting some of them. Ultimately, this was the section which I did worst in for the Trial of Wisdom, scoring a measly 1.05.

"The contestant is judged to have a wisdom of W=1.6. Would they like to proceed to the Trial of Comprehension?

Now this sounded interesting. Without a second thought, I agreed, and the darkness enveloped me once again.

Before me were three weapons. One, a sword, simple in design but lethal, as naked steel often is. Beside it lay a spear, an elegantly carved spearhead on a wooden pole that was longer than an average man was tall. Finally, on the rightmost was an archaic bow with a quiver of arrows standing beside it.

The System whispered into my ear, "Please choose a weapon, contestant."

A Choice of Death