An Anomaly? (Scaio)

A dream. How long has it been since the last one? A year? A decade? Maybe a century, who knows.

Must’ve been this new update notification intruding, even in this rare moment of rest.

It’s raining? Ohh… That explains the water, rains always makes me thirsty.

Why is the splashing not stopping? There is someone in that puddle, a human?

D.M.arkus, Level ERROR PaladERRORCreator
HerERRORCreator, HumERRORCreator, Passive, Explicit
Time since created: ∞
Time played: ∞

Heh, what do you know, finally you are going crazy. Your connection to the system is finally fading, maybe. This new update will finally delete you after so many attempts the wicked pantheon is going to accomplish their aim.

“What have they done to you, old friend?” speaks a voice that soothes your very existence.

You try to move once more, like always, not even your eyes flinch. But after a second where your cage seems to cut your soul, the voice is once more heard.

“Calm down old friend, look closely,” says the voice while the sound of the rain disappears, revealing the calm reflection of the puddle under me.

A stone face, worn out by time itself, a man maybe, can’t see much of the statue. But there he is right next to my face, a young man in his thirties, maybe, ruffled blond hair and piercing silverish grey eyes looking right into mines. I want so much to look at him directly, but the stone won’t budge.

“Don’t yourself, old friend,” speaks him kindly while he kneels in the mud in front of me so that finally we can lock eyes. And then I know, he is not who I want to see, he is not MY friend, he is just an echo of the one from whom I seek to ask for forgiveness.

“Yes, he is no more. I am now less than you ever were. I am the last of his wishes come true, alive only because the pantheon has finally bitten the bait.” His words mirror my own heart's despair, but everything ends when my eyes focus once more.

“I am no more. But now your turn has come. Grow and the answers will be given, old friend. I paved the first few steps for your journey, but no more can I interfere less the wicked pantheon will take notice.” the words this time are different, once more moving my restless soul. Then the light comes and everything disappears, accompanied by HIS words.

“Forge your destiny, my friend, all will be your one day, but what little power I still have is not enough, seek the little wyrm, that child will help you retrieve what was rightfully yours… have fun Ra▉▉▉▉, this world is made for that”

WARNING ADMIN AUTHORITY DETECTED, PREPARE FOR FULL ACCESS RESTORATION…

WARNING ADMIN AUTHORITY CORRUPTED, FULL ACCESS RESTORATION IMPOSSIBLE…

SOLUTION DETECTED, PARTIAL RESTORATION INITIATED, SPECIAL AUTHORITY GENERATED…

WARNING SPECIAL AUTHORITY RESTRICTED, SYSTEM INPUT REQUIRED AS CATALYST FOR RESTORATION…

SOLUTION DETECTED, NEW CLAIM FEATURE COMPATIBLE WITH REQUIREMENTS…

SOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE DUE TO SUBJECT CONFINEMENT, LIMITED INTERFERENCE AUTHORISED UNDER SPECIAL AUTHORITY PARAMETERS…

Generating background for optimal hidden activity...

Generating proto-lair area…

Inserting subject into continuum…

Arkus wishes you a fulfilling experience…

I’ll wait for you Raz▉▉▉…

You see, a young man in his twenties, maybe, ruffled blond hair and piercing silverish grey eyes looking right back at you. “Am I younger?” You ask yourself, seemingly noticing something. “Maybe it’s the new optimized rendering algorithm but even my body seems changed, more flexible, less… stoney” you ponder as your body shows in the small pool of reflective liquid. You aren’t sure how attractive you may be in the eyes of others, but you can’t complain.

Even if your height is a bit more than average, standing at 6’8”, within those parameters you believe your size is pretty average, the well-defined musculature however gives you an athletic body shape that you hope will help you attract the right attention. While you continue to observe yourself, eventually, your sheet is pulled up, capturing your attention. “Worth a read at least”

Unnamed, Level 2, Fallen Paladin
Hero(Test), Human(?), Abandoned, Explicit
Attributes
Strength 25 Dexterity 20 Endurance 25
Charisma 30 Manipulation 30 Appearance 35
Perception 25 Intelligence 25 Wits 20
Skills
Bureaucracy 30
Melee 25
Athleticism 25
Presence 20
Occult 20
Lore 20 -18
Stealth 10
Dodge 10
Crafting (Stoneworking) 15
Crafting (Woodworking) 15
Feats
Abjuration Savant: Reduce the time you need to spend studying the magic that falls under the Abjuration school*
* Occult Focus: Abjuration: Adds +5 effective to Occult when casting Abjuration spells
* Lore Focus: Abjuration: Adds +5 effective to Lore when studying Abjuration spells, effects, external creatures, and the like.
Vow of Truth: Words carry weight. Yours far more than others. You have vowed to never speak a word that you know is false, as a reward any who sees you as friendly will be easier to convince of your words. You gain a bonus to Charisma and Presence equal to ▉▉▉▉/▉▉.
Aberrant Dragonmark: Unique reward granted to the heroes who first stopped the advance of The Great Wyrm of Mount Imporne. You are among a select few, and this mark proves it. After the great battle of Mount Imporne, the 13 heroes with the greatest accomplishments have been branded by the very same fire they repelled back to the heart of the mountain. As the bearer of the Aberrant Mark, your magic is enhanced in both offense and defense, and the time required to learn new magic is greatly reduced. (WARNING)
Oathbreaker: If you fall, you damn well better fall hard. Your ancient oath has been broken, be it by your own volition or otherwise, such an event leaves marks upon the victim. You continuously exude an aura that most external find repugnant, the stigma of a broken oath inspires despise and fear in daemons and angels alike and even fey find your presence difficult to bear. When attempting to use Appearance positively on creatures without the External subtype, it counts as 20 points lower. (WARNING)
Spells
Ceremony: You can perform a special religious ceremony that is infused with magic. (WARNING)
Protection from Evil and Good: One willing creature you touch is protected against certain types of creatures: celestials, elementals, fey, fiend, and undead.
Sanctuary: You ward a willing creature in your vicinity against attacks.
Shield of Fait: A shimmering field appears and surrounds a creature of your choice within range. (WARNING)
Protection from Poison: You touch a creature. If it is poisoned, you neutralize the poison. If not you grant them protection against being poisoned and poison damage for the duration.

In the end, nothing has changed, same old wacky stuff. Due to your abandoned status, you have lost many levels as a penalty for the extended absence of a player, eventually, you will turn level 0 and become a villager NPC, and since you can’t get levels on your own for the same reason, the day lingers ever so closely.

Since you are an oathbreaker Arkus tells you to find one of the redemption quest-givers for your class but that is locked behind the presence of a player, plus, you don’t know where to find one of them. At each major update you seem to lose points in the Lore skill, that (-) has lingered there forever, your mystical lore is not affected but all the rest seems to be forgotten bit by bit. You aren’t even sure of the name of this area, a great deal of strange for someone who has lived here since, well, forever.

And finally, also due to Oathbreaker, your class spells seem to have taken the hit, all of them facing limitations and in some cases being almost completely locked.

You don’t even bother with (Test), (?), and (▉▉▉▉/▉▉). Countless updates were even fancier than Settlements and nothing has changed in that regard.

Having seen enough, you move your hand to close the tab and stop in seeing something that is indeed unusual, a notification on the social tab. You can’t even contain the excitement while you move your finger on the icon.

Unnamed, Level 2, Fallen Paladin
Hero, Human, Abandoned, Explicit
Feats
Kind – You gain more experience through helping others, and the cost of beneficial spells you cast is lowered.
Brave - You and your party gain an attack boost when facing opponents that are at a higher level than you. (NEW)
Charming - You gain more experience by using diplomacy. Allies gain a 1.25x boost to social skills while within 30 feet.
Leader - You gain a fraction of the experience that your allies gain while under your command. (NEW)

After finally reading the whole text, you tentatively press the pop-ups fearful of what they may bring, but your bravery seems to be rewarded in the end.

NEW

Brave: Due to synergy with the Leader skill, the effect is extended to the whole party.

Good, good, it’s a good start.

NEW

Leader: Due to rebalancing, the experience gained is now taken from the gains of the allies instead of being generated as a reward. Due to rebalancing, the experience gains calculation is now dependent on the opinion of each party member.

“Oh. My. GOD” You scream as you begin jumping for a few seconds in celebration of your discovery. “I’m finally free, I can save myself” A sudden realization hits you. “Will it last? ALY” you begin running out of the little cave while calling the only name that you remember.