Origin ARS 7

Origin ARS

Volume 7

By Scottie Futch

Copyright 2017 Scottie Futch

Smashwords Edition

License Note: This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Please Note: This story is part of a larger project known as Project Scott. It is a work of humor and parody designed to entertain, though there may be serious moments and the occasional traumatic event involved in the storyline. If you dislike fun in general, this tale is not for you.

Any character found engaging in sexual actions within the confines of this story is at least eighteen years of age or older. They are also quite fortunate, and I freely admit that I am jealous of their societal success.

Table of Contents

1. Chapter 1

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3

4. Chapter 4

5. Chapter 5

6. Chapter 6

7. Chapter 7

8. Chapter 8

9. Chapter 9

10. Chapter 10

11. Chapter 11

12. Chapter 12

13. Chapter 13

14. Chapter 14

15. Chapter 15

16. Chapter 16

17. Chapter 17

18. Chapter 18

19. Chapter 19

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Chapter 1: Well Met

The world of ARS, and all its wonders, Scott loved them greatly. His old life was a never ending barrage of service and duty. There were few truly wonderful and inspiring moments that came to mind whenever he considered his previous existence. His current life, however, was a far grander affair.

Most days in his new life inspired him to wonder and awe. The situation began roughly, on an emotional level, but over time he grew thankful to the goddess who brought him to the magical land that he so loved.

At the moment, however, things were not particularly calm on the world of ARS. A realm of magic and danger that caused many daily life and death struggles among the sapient races, it was no wonder that in some parts of the world the flames of war burned bright.

As a former soldier, and a champion of this world, Scott felt the need to answer the call to battle. He had already bid farewell to Herbert and his lady love. Now he stood before the salvation mirror at the Grand Central Cathedral. A place set aside to honor all of the gods of ARS, its sweeping eaves and gleaming stained glass windows were a monument to the love the people had for those who gave rise to their world.

Despite the multitudes that existed, Scott only prayed to one specific deity. Given his relationship to the divine, those prayers usually involved lewd thoughts. Thankfully, he was given a certain bit of leeway on such matters.

I need to upgrade a bit. It's been a while, said Scott. He gazed into the mirror and saved his soul, so to speak. His eyes lit-up when he saw his status appear before him.

[Status]

[Scott Jacobs]

Race: Lunarii | Class: Twilight Master

Age: 18 | Max Lifespan: Ageless

Level: 12 | Title: The Reborn

Attack: [219-225] | Defense: [232-250]

Strength: 101[103] | Agility: 100[105] | Vitality: 100

Intellect: 100 | Charisma: 100 | Attunement: 100

[--]

So, that's what the helmet adds, huh? Scott took off the helmet that Herbert had made, and looked again. The strange little gift added a small amount to his strength, agility, attack, and defense. Neither increased by a large margin, but the fact that it generate multiple stat increases meant that it was a fine piece of work.

Between the helmet and the bracers that Ero made, Scott's attack and defense increased by over ten and seven points respectively. Strength and agility increased by two and three points respectively from those pieces alone. Sadly, he was not aware of any specific special options beyond the stat increases.

Next, he checked his skill levels. If he was lucky, he would be able to make a few specialization upgrades.

[Class Skills]

Unarmed Combat: 40

Twilight Sorcery: 37

Primordial Magic: 1

Sense Life: 38

Arcane Lore: 27

Arcane Mastery: 39

Light Armor: 38

Analyze: 40

[--]

[Miscellaneous Skills]

Survival Lore: 35

Boomerang Mastery: 1

[--]

Sweet! Analyze and Unarmed Combat hit forty, said Scott. Primordial Magic and Boomerang Mastery were still woefully untrained, but they would have to wait. The former required further comprehension of what primordial magical actually was, and how it operated. The latter required him to actually utilize boomerangs. Given how difficult it was to raise skills at his current level, there were other priorities for his time.

Beyond his low-end skills, there were a few other disappointments. Neither of his other magical skills managed to reach forty in the latest round of training. He would not be able to upgrade them further at the moment.

Ah! Arcane Lore is above twenty-five, too, he said after looking at his skills once more. That's something at least.

He frowned slightly, however. Damn. If I'd known that Arcane Mastery was going to stop at thirty-nine, I would have spent another dozen hours training it. Too late now, probably.

The same issue was largely true of his Light Armor and Twilight Sorcery skills. They were close, but still a few days' worth of training away from reaching forty. Outside of the tutorial space and its easy access to easy training, the process slowed to a crawl.

Scott rubbed his chin. After this mission, it'll be time to heavily work toward increasing my level instead of focusing on my skills so much.

On the bright side he also noted that should he survive the upcoming event, most of his skills would probably be above forty. It would be a time of heavy upgrades, a celebration of victory, and perhaps even a chance at a bit of fat loot.

Scott looked through his options, then selected his upgrades. Satisfied for the moment, he took one final look at his upgrade list then shut it down.

[Notations]

Unarmed Combat Specializations [3]

[Improved Health Regeneration I]

[Improved Defense I]

[Improved Attack I]

Twilight Sorcery Specializations [2]

[Celestial Mastery II]

Arcane Lore [2]

[Know Spell I]

[Inspect Enchantment I]

Sense Life Specializations [2]

[Sense Nature I]

[Sense Unnatural I]

Arcane Mastery Specializations [2]

[Increased Attunement Efficiency II]

Light Armor Specializations [2]

[Reduce Armor Burden: Light Leather [2]

Analyze Specializations [3]

[Compare Similar Items II]

[Item Lore I]

Survival Lore Specializations [2]

[Improved Environmental Observation II]

[--]

Scott chose to take the Improved Attack and Inspect Enchantment skill upgrades. Much like the improved defense upgrade, improved attack increased his attack power by ten percent when he fought without the use of weapons. The inspect enchantment upgrade would allow him to discern information regarding seals and enchanted items. Magical traps might also be discovered if his survival lore was taken into account. Skills often worked together synergistically to create hybrid abilities in that manner.

His upgrade for Analyze was the skill, Item Lore. Now he could discern more information about a given item by noticing its features. It would not grant a detailed account of the item at the current upgrade level. Still, he would at least be able to discern whether or not an item was reasonably useful.

Alright, now I just need to check my spell slots, and I'm done, he said quietly to himself. Scott drew up his spells slots on the mirror then blinked. The hell?

[Spell Status]

Current Spell Slots in Use [1]: [Starlight Flare]

Current Spells Allowed for Allotment [2]: [Starlight Flare][Summon Fiance]

[--]

What happened to all my other stuff? Sure, the other spells were garbage-tier and half-understood attempts at creating something. Still, he was able to put a few other things into his slots before.

As fortune would have it, there was an explanation. Scott clicked on a glowing link below his current spell allotment section.

[Notice]

Due to routine quarterly system maintenance, all incomplete spells have been removed from your listing. If you wish to file a complaint, you may do so. A properly filed maintenance complaint will automatically restore the incomplete spells to your list.

Alternatively, you may accept compensation in the form of a low grade twenty-four hour boost to experience and contribution acquisition. The contribution point boost will be granted toward the kingdom currently set as [Valkovia]. This is a standard practice during system maintenance, and should be considered the equivalent to a normally occurring roleplay bonus.

[--]

On the one hand, the system just yanked a bunch of his hard work away from him. On the other hand, his garbage-tier spells were just attempts to create something useful.

Scott blinked slowly as he considered his options. It did not take long for him to realize the truth. He snorted as he made a decision. Fuck those garbage spells. I'll take the boost.

It was not like he could not simply recreate the useful ones anyway. Due to his new found understanding of sorcery, he would have eventually removed them from his list anyway.

I should create some sort of back-up grimoire in the future, though, said Scott. He did not care about any of the missing spells, to be honest. They were poorly crafted and barely useful. Future incomplete spells might be a different story, however. He would not want to have to choose between an experience boost, and the retention of his missing spell creation attempts.

The more he thought about it, the more a grimoire made sense in any case. If he wrote down the method for utilizing his spells then he would be able to access them easier without the need to use a spell slot for anything other than his preferred combat spells. The spells slots merely made it easier to cast spells safely through system assistance. He could use magic on his own without placing a spell into a spell slot, provided he was willing to take many more risks in the process.

He rubbed his chin for a moment. Quarterly maintenance as an excuse to give roleplaying awards was an interesting thought. It made him wonder what other sorts of rewards he might be able to acquire through simple means. Thoughts of rewards also made him consider something else. I haven't received any sort of achievement badges since I left the tutorial.

At his level, it was possible that he merely missed out on acquiring a few easy awards that most people gain. The achievements did not grant him anything, but they were certainly fun to look at when he was bored. The one that he received after he accidentally killed himself with his first lightning spell creation attempt was particularly fun to view.

Scott finished his business with the mirror then headed toward the rally point for the mobilization force. Upon arrival, he was surprised to see that only a few dozen people milled around in the area. This is it?

A familiar voice called out to him. Scott turned and waved toward his new friend. Hey Greelak. What's going on?

Nothin' much, man. Just joining the expedition. Howz 'bout you? asked Greelak. The massive orc walked over to Scott. Intimidating in appearance as always, he carried several weapons strapped to his body and cradled a minigun in his arms.

I was coming to join up as well, said Scott. Next to Greelak his relatively muscular frame appeared to be that of a scrawny child. The difference in size was so apparent that Scott subconsciously attempted to puff himself up a little, much like a puffer fish who expanded his body to ward off predators.

Greelak grinned at him. Whether he noticed Scott's subconscious puffery, or not, he did not say. However, he did respond in a more ordinary manner. Good. I closed up shop for this.

Just lookin' for a fight, or you looking for Crankshaft? asked Scott, curiously.

Both, my man. I'm doin' both, said Greelak.

They chatted lightly for a moment, but it was not long before another voice cut through the air. It was also a familiar one to Scott. Hello, moon brother.

Angru? Is that you? asked Scott with a laugh. The blood tracker, Angru the Possessed, had come to join the expedition as well.

Scott had not seen the wolfman since the clean-up project after the attack on the city. He was as big and hairy as ever. He wore no armor, and carried no weapons. However, he did sport a nice new pair of pants that were artfully ripped at the knees.

The wolfman trotted over to the group then nodded to Greelak. The orc nodded to him in kind. Scott introduced them to each other. Greelak and Angru shook hands then started to chat like old friends.

When the topic of Rhea and Herbert came up, Scott explained that they had other business to attend to at the moment. He would be the group's representative in the fight to come.

Over time a few more people wandered over to the odd little group. They proved to be either friends of Greelak or of Angru.

Scott chatted freely with everyone, and even explained the reason for his new helmet. Angru and Greelak both approved. The use of the skull of an enemy for a hat was a time honored tradition for both of their peoples, though Bloodtrackers primarily used them for ceremonial purposes.

Eventually, an enforcer came over to the group. Greetings. Are you here to join the expedition?

Yes, said Scott. Several others voiced their agreement as well.

Excellent. We'll need to get everyone processed, but the processing tent is not quite ready. Till then, if you have earned meritorious awards for your contribution, you may use them over at the provisions tent, said the enforcer before waving his hand and walking away.

A few members of the group, Scott included, walked over to the provisions tent. There was a short line to wait in, but the wait passed quickly while the gathered men of even more varied races chatted freely. There were orcs, and blood trackers, elves and even a squilanti in line. The later looked slightly bored, but his face tentacles writhed in a way that gave him the appearance of agitation.

Strangely, there were few humans in the area outside of the enforcers. As it turned out, the few people Scott thought to be human were actually Lunarian.

It was a strange situation to him. Where were the normal humans? Didn't they care about their city and the surrounding areas?

He received the answer to his questions after someone else brought the matter up. Scott listened in as a Lunarian paladin explained.

"The majority of the local humans, and most of the other citizens in town, usually join the main militia unit. Expeditionary and subjugation forces are usually comprised