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Abraham is a lonely and weak vagabond who traverses a world full of magic and monsters. But when he's gifted a sacred attribute from a shady chalice in a temple, everything changes. Pulse floods into him at a level that shouldn't be possible. And now, he's hunted by monsters and beings of almost divine power.

The Mantle of War

Solara blinked a few times, noticing the dead black snake.

Abraham looked down at the ground, almost in shame.

Abraham looked at his hands for a second. "I also uh… got something from it."

He inspected the item in his equipment

[Item: Venomous Infliction]

[Description: "The serpent's curse lingers. May your strikes carry suffering."]

"Huh. It's a charm. Imbues my attacks with poison. Isn't that neat?" Abraham smirked.

Solara smiled. "Well isn't that amazing."

"Yeah, let's go now though." They both packed up their camp and headed out for the port.

A couple minutes passed since they left their camp.

Abraham looked at her, confused. "Thanks for what?"

Solara looked at him, slightly disappointed he didn't understand immediately.

"Thanks for saving my life back there…"

Abraham looked down for a moment, then back at her.

"No problem. But if I'm going to be honest… I was going to run away to begin with." He looked away, with slight shame.

"But I guess you being completely defenceless made me change my mind."

"Thanks anyways. I would've died if it wasn't for you." She smiled.

Abraham looked back, scratching his head. "No problem I guess…"

After a long walk, and a lot of talking, they had finally reached a clearing.

In the middle of that clearing, a middle aged man sat meditating.

Abraham, relatively skeptical that the strange man is safe, hid closely between some of the long grass.

"Weird man at our twelve o'clock." He whispered to Solara

Solara on the other hand looked at him, then took a happy stroll toward him.

The man appeared to be wearing some kind of leathery armor. He had a dark stubble and his face had a few scars in certain places. The man had deep blue eyes and he locked them straight onto Solara.

Solara scratched her head. "Hey… old man?"

"Oh c'mon… I'm not that old you know?" The man muttered, "I'm only 29."

The man looked confused."Uh what?"

Abraham at this point decided to just come out considering Solara blew their cover.

"Hello, other random stranger!" The man smiled

[Pulse: 810]

[Attribute: Combat — Draconic Infusion]

[Traits: Iron Grip, Burning Alive, Pyromania]

[Titles: Ember of Calor, Graced of The Sun]

Starrk looked up at the two of them. "I guess I don't have to introduce myself?"

Solara nodded, a sweat drop rolling down her forehead.

Starrk smiled. "That's a neat trick."

Abraham, still confused, asked, "Uh what's up with this guy?"

Solara looked at him, her face pale. "His name is Starrk… he's a resonant."

Abraham, understanding the gravity of the situation, froze in fear.

They both turned to the jolly man sitting on the floor.

Starrk suddenly let out a laugh. "The look on your guys' faces. Priceless!"

Solara and Abraham stood confused and terrified at the same time.

"Don't worry guys… I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled. "Come sit with me for a little bit. Let's talk."

Obediently, they both sat down and stared at the man who was still smiling.

Their bodies tensed up. The man's sheer presence felt like they were being weighed down by mountains. Abraham could have sworn that he had slightly pissed himself.

Solara on the other hand was dead still, eyes widened.

Starrk, however, sat there as if he was relaxing in the sun.

The Stranger