NOVEL WEB 64. And Recounts Bygone Times (Morgan)
The world has always contained the essence of magic, coursing through it like rivers and creeks. Odd and frightening things lingered in isolated and secluded places, waiting to be found by unsuspecting people. Spirits stayed behind where they had left unresolved affairs, and vicious beasts were borne from the twisted hearts of men.
Both the younger and older generations always liked to blame that on the Awakening Event, but Morgan knew far better than most how deep the strangeness of this world ran.
She was fourteen years old when she awakened as the Pioneer of Sorcery, fighting her way tooth and nail through every last vicious trial that she was forced into. Although she could bear the heart-pounding thrill of putting her life on the line against another, one trial in particular changed her in a way that she would never quite pull away from.
Morgan had seen into the depths of depravity that could be carved into people's souls, seen how they would turn on their fellows in an instant for any manner of reason. A difference of appearance, a difference of creed, or even for the sake of personal benefit. But it wasn't until the Awakening Event, and the first trial, that she had it permanently etched into her mind.
The first trial was shared between all of the Pioneer candidates. Every single one of them was whisked away to the ruins of a great city, in a place only called 'Hyperborea.' Their task was a deceptively simple one: slay three living creatures. It could have been bugs, birds, or even any of the revenants that prowled the streets of that place -- but a great deal of the freshly awakened chose another route: Each other.
They had all been thrust into an environment that expected the world of them, in spite of the fact that they lacked any real power. Once the easy pickings were gone, many refused to pit themselves against the monsters of the city.
It was then and there, through that cruel trial, that Morgan saw what her peers were willing to sink to. And it was also there where she met someone who would change the course of her life.
[Slay living creatures: 2/3]
Morgan stared at the blue window in front of her, the text silently taunting her with how it quivered and swayed. The trial had been ongoing for at least six hours, or so she had guessed. Already the others were beginning to turn on each other like rabid dogs -- slowly thinning down their numbers from what was initially about a hundred or so. She wondered how many would die before this came to an end.
It's sorting out those who have a capacity for violence, or those who...
Her thoughts stumbled off, but they were never given a chance to recover -- an ear-piercing scream sounded throughout the thin alleys and streets of the city, shocking her into sudden action. She swiveled in the direction of the scream, which she was certain came from a girl.
Without another thought, she took off towards where the sound had come from, clambering through the streets as quickly as her feet would carry her. One frantic step at a time. She clutched a knife in her hand, one she managed to steal from the interiors of one of the buildings early in the trial -- it had started out slightly splotched with rust, but the layers of it only seemed to grow as the trial went on.
It took her a full minute to reach the source, which was only possible because the girl let out quieter and quieter screams as she got closer. After rounding a corner, she finally spied her.
A girl about her age pointing a half-broken spear at one of the revenants. Curly blonde hair curved and tilted around her jaw, framing her face in a way that was surely done on purpose. A red silk ribbon had been tied into her hair, adorning the top of her head, and she was wearing a long, but tattered dress. Nobility, of some sort, Morgan was certain of it.
The girl had been cornered in the alleyway, the revenant about ready to break past her meager defenses.
Can't just let her die...
From what she had seen, the revenants typically had a pretty singular focus on whatever target they'd picked out. So Morgan crept quietly behind the thing, knife held at her side as she approached.
A moment later, she raised the blade. In another flash of movement, she drove it firmly into its neck, the edge of the blade pointed towards her. With a hard tug, it ripped through the side and back of the revenant's throat, coming out cleanly. The thing stumbled, not quite dead.
She stepped back as the monster was pushed towards her, the sight of that girl visible around either side of it. It let out a final groan and died on the spot, its body beginning to wither and decay rapidly.
Thank goodness, she's got some guts after all...
Before long, naught remained of the thing but a pile of black dust on the ground.
"T-thank you for your help, gods!" The girl bowed deeply, the ribbon swaying a little. Her 'spear' was now well and truly wrecked. "I would've been doomed without you, really!"
Morgan nodded, "N-no problem..."
She bit the inside of her mouth, '"N-no." Really?! She was so taken aback by the girl's forwardness that she couldn't help but stumble over her own words. Was it really alright for her to say that she 'would have been doomed' without her?
"My name is Selene Aurelie Beaumont! And you?"
"...Morgan."
Selene blinked a few times, "Morgan..." She paused, as if to say 'Morgan what?'
"Just Morgan."
"Oh!" She clapped her hands together, a small smile parting her lips, "It's truly a pleasure to meet you then, Morgan!"
"A-and you as well..."
It was Morgan's first time meeting a noble, let alone speaking with one. Perhaps it was because of her age, but she was easily swept up in the air of high society. She watched as Selene stared at something, almost certainly her own window.
"Have you learned anything about how this works, Morgan?"
Again, she was taken aback. Information was a valuable thing, so how could she just ask for it so boldly? Still, she opened her status window, taking a good look.
Name: Morgan
Class: N/A
Level: N/A
Status Points:
- Strength: 9
- Agility: 12
- Intellect: 16
- Resilience: 8
- Luck: 17
Skills:
You currently possess no skills!
The status points were just about the only thing she could make sense of. She did get some small kick out of luck being highest one, and the existence of that in itself raised more than a few questions.
After a sharp exhale, she brushed the window away. There was nothing there that she hadn't spent a great deal of time staring at already.
"Not particularly. It seems like most of what's there either isn't accessible yet, or wasn't granted to me."
Selene nodded, "I've noticed the same. I'm really curious about what the 'skills' will be!"
Morgan shuffled around for a moment, peering behind her to make sure nothing was sneaking up on the pair. "So... Was that your first kill?"
The girl nodded again, "It was! How many have you gotten so far?"
So carefree -- is she all there?
"Only two."
"I guess you couldn't have done three.. And you're pretty good at this!" Selene eyed her broken stick, and then Morgan's knife, "Do you wanna team up? Two pairs of eyes would be better off than one."
And we'd have better odds against those poachers...
It couldn't hurt, that's what she thought. And at the very least, she didn't feel right leaving the girl to survive on her own. Morgan rubbed her eyes and sighed.
"Just for a little while, okay?"
