The First Hunt
Chapter 5: The First Hunt
Morning in the Vaelrin Expanse was unlike anything on Earth. The air shimmered faintly, dense with ambient mana, and the golden light of two suns bathed the city in radiant warmth. As the six Earthlings awoke in their spacious rooms at The Crystal Root Inn, the faint glow of their systems flared to life.
Each interface pulsed with new data.
---
System Activation: Full Integration Complete
> System Tip: Welcome to the Outer Ring of Vaelrin — Border City Rank: F Territory: Human-Aligned, Political Standing: Peripheral
> New Quest Branches Unlocked: [Daily], [Weekly], [Monthly], [Yearly], [Lifetime] Hidden Quest Detection Enabled: [Pending Class Advancement] Group Party Link: Established
---
A beautiful breakfast awaited them in the Crystal Root's dining hall. Plates were adorned with roasted sunfruits, violet-stalk sausages, and aromatic breads infused with mana-rich grains. Steven examined each dish with reverence.
"Mana-flavored spices… See that blue tint? That's a frostvine herb," he said, slicing into a piece of meat that sparkled faintly with elemental energy. "This boosts mental clarity and elemental resistance. Clever."
"It's more like eating an RPG buff table," Arlo grunted, loading her plate.
They sat, talked, reviewed their menus, and prepared for the day.
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System Readouts & Magical Affinities
Each character now had a clearer understanding of their system parameters:
Dr. Robert Starfield
Celestial Link: Dwarf Moon Neros
Active Ability: Gravitational Pulse (Localized gravity shift)
Passive: Lunar Observer (Minor detection boost at night)
Alignment: Virell (Imagination), Ysera (Wisdom)
Elemental Path: Celestial Magic – gravity, illusion, memory-based phenomena
Sana Cruz
System Type: Soul Resonance and Willbinding
Alignment: Elryn (Willpower), Nael (Luck), Khorus (Beast Instinct)
Elemental Path: Shadow Magic, Spirit Affinity, Lycan Rites
Steven Cross
System Type: Culinary Alchemy / Flavor Magic
Alignment: Ysera (Wisdom), Khorus (Savage Innovation)
Elemental Path: Fire, Wind, Lightning – infused via food
Ivan Venn
System Type: Pattern Weaving
Alignment: Virell (Imagination), Elryn (Willpower)
Elemental Path: Air, Psychic Thread, Enchantment Layers
Meloy Conners
System Type: Verdant Links
Alignment: Ysera (Wisdom), Elryn (Willpower)
Elemental Path: Nature, Life, Vinebound Symbiosis
Arlo Reyes
System Type: Wind Drive / Motion Engine
Alignment: Khorus (Instinct), Nael (Luck)
Elemental Path: Kinetic, Wind, Storm
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After breakfast, they decided to split into two groups.
Robert, Sana, and Steven would head to the local adventurer's guild for information. Meloy, Arlo, and Ivan would check out a weapons shop.
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Group One: Adventurer's Guild
The building stood tall and weather-worn at the edge of the market district. Inside, colorful banners, bounty posters, and magically projected monster sightings filled the air. A bored but polite receptionist greeted them.
"You're not from around here, huh?" she asked, eyeing Robert's celestial robes.
"We're from… far away," Robert said simply.
"City's called Varnath," she explained. "Outskirts of human territory. Last-ranked out of the forty-seven frontier hubs. But that means opportunity. Less competition."
She handed them a starter packet. "You'll need weapons. Monster permits. And training. Your first real quest? Survive a G-rank monster."
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Group Two: Weapon Shop – 'Steel & Root'
The smith was an old woman with molten-red eyes and a hammer larger than Steven's torso. She appraised each of them as if they were swords themselves.
"Earthlings, huh?" she muttered. "I haven't seen one of you since the last Rift… You'll need basic enchantment-forged tools."
They each picked:
Arlo: Twin shortspears with momentum runes
Meloy: A living vine whip that responded to her voice
Ivan: A threaded-blade rapier that could bend like silk
"Come back when you earn your first monster kill," the smith said. "These'll grow with you if you treat them right."
---
The forest outside the city loomed, and the party regrouped.
Their first test awaited.
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Training Grounds – Outer Forest of Varnath
The trees buzzed with ambient magic. Even the shadows had texture. They didn't have to wait long.
Six phantasmal wolves appeared, almost summoned by fate.
"They're Rank G," Robert said. "Perfect training targets."
They split into individual duels.
System Combat Parameters:
> Each system channels energy based on alignment and intent. Skills are activated via internal focus or specific triggers (movement, emotion, chant, environment). Passive traits can amplify senses, dodge timing, or innate reflexes.
Robert's First Use:
> Ability Activated: Gravitational Pulse Result: Increased gravity around wolf, slowing its pounce. Counterstrike: Staff uppercut, empowered by moonlight.
"Effective," Robert muttered.
Sana fought in silence, shadows trailing her limbs.
> Skill: Soulhowl — Weakens enemy resolve Trait: Beast Within — Claws emerge under adrenaline
Steven tossed a spice pouch mid-duck.
> Activated: Flavor Spark – Fireburst Result: Exploding meal pellet blinds the wolf Follow-up: Kitchen knife parry + pan to the face
Each Earthling fought with growing synchronicity. Their first real combat.
They all survived—and each killed five Rank G phantasmal wolves before sundown.
As they sat to rest beneath a glowing mana tree, their systems chimed again.
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> [System Alert: Lifetime Quest Initiated] Title: "Rise of Earth's Vanguard" Objective: Raise Earth to Qualified Combatant Status in the Interworld Tournament Timeline: 5 years
Quest Breakdown:
Daily Quests: Skill usage, training, meditation
Weekly Quests: Monster kills, local reputation gains
Monthly Quests: Dungeon clearing, region defense
Yearly Quests: Territory gains, class evolutions
Lifetime Quest: Interworld Tournament Qualification
> Reward: Planetary Recognition, Unique World-Class Upgrades, Divine Attention
"...No pressure," Arlo muttered, eyes wide.
They shelved the panic for tomorrow.
For now—they had survived their first day as adventurers.
And the stars above were watching.
[Celestial Interstice – Beneath the Shadow of Neros]
A place outside of time, where gods speak and stars remember.
The silver void shimmered. The moon Neros, pale and cracked, drifted slowly through the empty space—its surface scarred with ancient symbols, like chains etched into stone.
Two divine presences hovered nearby.
Elryn, Goddess of Willpower, burned like a steady star. Her violet fire radiated purpose, her form tall, immovable, shaped by duty.
Virell, God of Imagination, swirled like dream-silk, a form of ever-shifting sigils and stardust, reclining lazily as if all the cosmos were a canvas for idle creation.
---
Elryn: "The First Eclipse of Neros approaches. A cycle lost for five hundred turns now returns. The seal thins again."
Virell: (smiling faintly) "Time has a flair for symmetry. History always finds its echo. This time, it hums through new blood—through Robert Starfield."
Elryn: "The boy who fell between stars. Eyes of dusk and dawn. He is not ready."
Virell: "No one ever is, Elryn. The moons don't wait for readiness—they demand response."
Elryn: "His system binds him to Neros already. Gravitational Pulse was merely a whisper. The eclipse will bring Lunar Phasing, maybe even Veilwalking."
Virell: (twirling a constellation between his fingers) "He's curious. That's good. Curiosity drives gods mad and mortals into legend. He sees the world and asks why it moves the way it does. That's the first sign of ascension."
Elryn: "But Neros is not only moon—it is a vault. A weight. Beneath it sleeps something ancient, something even you fear."
Virell: (momentarily quiet) "Not fear, Elryn. I simply... respect the forgotten."
(a beat)
"The Forgotten Star was sealed for a reason."
Elryn: "Then why let this human draw near its orbit? Why let him observe the sky with such clarity?"
Virell: "Because the lock only weakens when it is seen. And he is the first in centuries to look without blinking."
Elryn: "You gamble with fate."
Virell: "I am fate's artist."
They hovered in silence as Neros turned slowly, casting its pale light across realms seen and unseen. Beneath its glowing surface, lines flickered—arcane seals once bright now faded. The moon was breathing again.
Then, a third presence stirred.
A pulse. A hum. A breath not of form, but of memory forgotten.
The void behind the gods bent inward. A silence darker than space bled into their moment.
And from it came a whisper—half-thought, half-voice:
---
Amnesh, the Lost One, drifted in.
A figure stitched from contradictions—both present and absent, speaking words that echoed before they were heard.
Amnesh: "Still playing with pieces, are we, dreamers? Still watching the moon, as if it hasn't already been cracked open in another time?"
Elryn: (steeling herself) "You were not summoned, Lost One."
Virell: (grinning) "Which is exactly why he came."
Amnesh: (softly) "The seal doesn't care who breaks it. Only that someone looks too long. Mortals with systems and gods with secrets… all you do is poke the wound and wonder why it bleeds again."
Elryn: "Neros will hold—this time."
Amnesh: (laughter like broken glass) "You're still bound by the idea of time. Cute."
He drifted closer to the moon, a smear of unreality across its surface.
---
Amnesh: "The boy with eyes of sky and ash—he is already dreaming the old dreams. When he stands beneath the eclipse, he won't just see the stars. He'll hear what sleeps beneath them."
Virell: "He will not be alone."
Amnesh: (smiling without form) "No. He'll have me."
---
With that, the void cracked like ice. Amnesh was gone. And yet... not.
His presence lingered, like a scent of burning parchment or a dream you try to forget and fail.
Elryn turned toward Virell, frowning.
---
Elryn: "You see now? The awakening is already in motion. The system chose Robert... but something older is watching through him."
Virell: (serious for once) "Then let's prepare him well. For when Neros casts its shadow, the stars may not be the only ones watching."