He awoke from a deep sleep with the fading remnants of whispers still swirling around his mind. The bed he was on was soft but bare, as was the large room around him. A soft chittering sound emanated from his right.
"I see you are awake" Rhea said sitting beside him. "I would like to apologize for my actions when you came in" she says with her head down, inky hair blocking her face. "I had thought you were a slaver from the order" Still not looking at Carter.
If she were, she would've noticed him staring into space as if reading something that she could not see.
__________________________
~Congratulations Carter Romano~
~Full adaptation complete~
~Starting class selection~
~Class given [Thug]~
~Calibrating experience~
~Class updated [[Brutalizer]] ~
____________________________
____________________________
Name: Carter Romano
Race: ?
Age: 34
Class: Brutalizer Lv.0
Traits: Strongman, Thick skin, Mean Mug, Newly Awoken, Iron Liver.
Str: 14
Dex: 10
Con: 16
Mag: 4
Cha:8
Skills: [Aura of Fear], [Iron Body], [Blooded], [Heavy Fist]
Spells: N/A
' This is kinda cool actually, what do these traits mean?'
Strongman- The individual has been lifting
Thick skin- The individual's skin has taken a beating, thickening in the process.
Mean Mug- The individual has an intimidating face
Newly awoken- the individual has recently found its way to Veloria
Iron Liver- Individual has resisted a poison too strong for its body, adapting in the process
'Oh, wow she really did poison me, cause that that last one wasn't their last time. She better have an explanation'.
As carter comes back to, he finds Rhea kneeling once again.
"So, why did you poison me?" Carter asks
"I am so sorry once again; it was only a sleeping draught " she states.
"A sleeping draught? then why did it feel like I was dying?" Carter grunts out
She gets up and sits on the chair beside him and shows him the blueish "tea". "Maria's bane is really just a sleeping draught, but since you were not adapted to the world just yet, the mild amounts of mana in it became deadly to your system. I was simply going to use it use it in conjunction with my [sleep] to lull you into deep sleep, when I then would've run with Kamari".
"I assure you I did not mean to force your adaptation; I am a follower of the goddess kokyangwuti. She would have cursed me, if I knowingly hurt an unbound" she states sincerely.
"And what is an unbound?" Carter asks as he levers himself up and off the bed.
"It is an entity who has not gone through the adaptation process yet, they are not fully tethered to the realm, making their being susceptible to being lost in the void. it is a great sin for healers."
'That sounds bad, makes me think of Cthulhu stuff.'
"Ok, so why were you going to run exactly? and is the realm called Valoria or is that something else?
' I think I already know one of the answers'
rhea shivers slightly before stating bluntly what she thought.
"I thought you were here to enslave us, pretending to be lost is a common tactic used by odium order slavers as their thugs encircle non-human settlements. They are zealots that follow Tipio, a god that hates were-folk and the more bestial races. and yes, we are on Valoria, specifically in what is called the frontier which means it belongs to know country, tribe or other groups except the fauna."
"Is that what you are? a were-folk" Carter asks as he begins to stretch, a habit that he's had for 15 years.
" No, I am a moirai, my people are said to be descended from the weavers. think of us as more bipedal cousins to spiders " she says in an informative tone while watching Carter as if he were a circus performer.
"What are you moving your limbs like that for?"
"I'm stretching; it's a habit I have" Carter states. 'Should probably hold off on saying that I was serving a life sentence'
"Yes, I see that but why are you stretching them? Is there a purpose to it " she asks as she stands up to get a closer look.
Carter quickly stands up when she gets closer and replies " it's to warm up ya know? To remove the stiffness in your body".
"Stiffness? How interesting, moirai do not do that as we are a mix of flexor muscles and hydraulic pressure". she then imitates the side bend pose he did, almost going a complete 90 degrees with ease. A distinct series of pops erupts from her body before she makes a chittering whine.
'Well, that's not terrifying to see and hear'. *shiver*
Rhea's eyes widen dramatically. "Oh, how interesting! my hemolymph feels like its moving easier. I will be sure to credit you If I get the chance to ever report this to the collective.
As her bangs move off of her forehead carter sees three distinctive large dots each on her temples that he was sure were not there earlier in the living room.
"Are you able to hide your other eyes, or was I just not paying attention before?"
"Oh yes, my form is fluid, it is what separates certain races from being counted as were-folk, the most common of non-human races in this region." She informs him.
"But we can talk later about the different aspects of what separates races, as a follower of kokyangwuti it is my duty to guide and explain newly awoken what they will need to know to begin there knew lives. She says with a quite kind smile if it weren't for what looked like large spider fangs beside her canines.
"What we should first talk about is often referred to as 'the system, it is an omniscient medium that allows us magic and to evolve further into higher beings. she says as she opens the door and gestures carter to follow down the stairs to the living room once more.
"This magic comes in too many shapes and sizes to list all of them but the two most universally common are skills and spells, skills being more innate and physical which affects the body; be that hardening of limbs or enhanced vision. spells typically have to be learned and are not given by the system, but it does quantify it. "
Rhea hands another drink to Carter, this one being a bright green reminding him of a certain soft drink.
"What is this? no offence but I don't exactly want to fake drink something again without knowing what it is since I was still somehow poisoned" Carter rumbles out
Rhea skin darkens and she full body shivers as she quickly explains " it is a juice with alderberry added to help recovery, it should help with any unknown side effects from the sleeping draught"
'Why did she just shake like that? whatever.'
Carter decides to drink it anyway even not knowing what an alderberry is since he is quite thirsty.
As he sips it a cool sensation engulfs his mouth and throat leaving a refreshed feeling behind.
'It kind of taste like that cucumber Gatorade, which is the best one'
"So, what are traits?"
Rhea's face scrunches up quite cutely as if she is confused. "You have traits already? that should not be the case since you should have a starting class"
"What is it by the way, your class if you do not mind telling me, most do not mind but some see it as a private thing"
Carter hesitated a moment before telling her
"It's called [Brutalizer]