A dying, long forgotten, drew some of his final breaths.
"Margerett. My dear. I fear… I fear you may, in fact, outlive me." He chuckled, the irony not lost on him. He, an immortal, would perish before a mere mortal woman.
Not that she was any better off considering her age, "Oh dear $*@$&, you-"
That got a pause out of her, "Your name… No, I still remember it, its **"
"Dont bother. One mortals belief and remembrance could only hold me together for so long. Thank you for remembering me. But today… It'll be my last." The nameless god sighed.
"I… Your powers. You still have them, right? Your divine authority?" She asked, no, pleaded.
"For now, yes. But every moment burns more of it." He admitted, a self placating smile adorned him.
"Then don't waste it. Use it. You haven't had any kids since you met me when I was but a college student…" She began.
"Marg, no-" He tried to argue.
"No nothing! I refuse to let you die and be fully forgotten. If you have a kid… you'll live on. It's why we mortals have kids, y'know?" She explained.
"But at your age, and with my remaining strength… I can't ensure you'll live." He tried to explain again.
"Dont bother. Just ensure our baby is strong enough to live without us. Strong enough-" Her voice choked up as sobs arose.
"Are you sure dear?" He couldn't even fight against her decision.
At that, she only stroked his fading body, "Certain, #^@^%- I mean, great god of knowledge, games and growth. Make me a mother yet. Even if your name has been lost, our child's name will be immortalized in history."
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Auntie…" a young boy with dirty blond hair and red-brown eyes called out.
"Yes sweetpea?" The older lady responded.
"Whats this?" He said, pointing in front of him.
"Whats what dearie?" She asked, following his finger, only to be directed at an empty wall.
"This." He repeated distractedly.
"The wall?" She asked, confused.
"Uhh, no? It's? A little wall. But flying! What is it?" We asked again.
Her face took on a weird expression, not that the boy saw, "But you're only five… Not yet."
"Wha?" He asked, slowly looking at her.
"Nothing. Just… Stop messing with that. It can bring danger." She explained shakily.
"Aunty Barbara? What you mean?" The boy was crestfallen, a new toy came, and he was most curious.
"I know you love to learn dearie, but please… Leave it alone. For now." She explained.
"Ogay." He mumbled out, tearie eyed.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Johan!" Aunt Barbara called out.
"Yes Auntie?" Answered Johan, the very same red-brown eyed boy answered, now a pre-teen.
"Stop staring!" She hissed out.
"But that man's wearing-" He tried to explain.
"Shush! Not another word." She ordered.
Johan's face changed multiple times before he settled on anger.
"But he's a-" He began to say, his voice climbing.
"Johan Quincy Cole! I told you that is enough!" She ordered yet again.
In his rage, he ignored a screen that appeared in front of him-
[Skill Gained - Observe]
[Name: Barbara Cole
Titles:Caretaker of The Nameless God's Final Miracle, Clear Sighted Mortal
Race: Human
Age: 68
Occupation: Street Baker
Skills:
Description: A clear sighted mortal, younger sister of {She Who Bore His Final Miracle}. She takes care of {His Final Miracle} and protects him from things that would hint at his true nature. She's also a very good baker, which she puts to good use to sell pastries and cakes on the street whenever she needs money. Which is often considering she constantly needs to change homes.]
"You're always doing this!" He yelled, the winds around him picking up.
Barbara shook in fear, her gaze flitting over at the 'Man' that caused this outburst.
"Everytime someone looks weird, or whenever someone's walking around with a sword or something, you always just shut me down! Aren't parents supposed to encourage their children to learn?!" He screamed.
"Johan, please-" She shakily tried to placate him
"Oh wait! You're not my parent!" Nearby plants seemed to cower in fear as the winds near him picked up further, shaking in the face of an awakening.
"Johan-" She tried to walk to Him as the man rose from his seat and walked towards them
"You're just a cheap substitute for the real thing you husbandless FRAUD! I wish mom and dad didn't die, and I wasn't stuck with a stuck-up, good for nothing, moroni-"
"Johan get down!" She tackled him as a shadow arose behind him.
*Zhwshh*
"Get off of me yo-" He tried to argue further, but the winds in his sails died out both figuratively and literally as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and-
"Uugh!" Barbara grunted in pain as she vomited blood, a sharp metallic gleam reaching Johan from below her.
"Wha- what the?" Johan muttered, overwhelmed in every description of the word. That's when he noticed something else-
[Name: Barbara Cole
Titles:Caretaker of The Nameless God's Final Miracle, Clear Sighted Mortal
Race: Human
Age: 68 (Deceased)
Occupation: Street Baker
Description: The younger sister of {She Who Bore His Final Miracle}. She took care of {His Final Miracle} until her final moments. Even though it killed her. She was killed by a Ghoul.]
Johan was always a smart boy. Articulated and quick on the uptake. He learned fast, but he read even faster. He could read and comprehend the entirety of the screen in front of him in the time it took for his aunt to cover his face in blood.
'De…ceased?' Johan understood. He felt and truly understood what this was in front of him. It was intrinsically connected to him. Even if the why and how escaped him.
He looked above him, at what cast a shadow above him, at what captured his attention, at what killed the woman he loved most.
[Name: ?
Titles: ?
Race: Ghoul
Age: ?
Occupation: ?
Skills:
Description: ???]
Johan didn't understand much. Just that he knew that it was a ghoul and that it could… Devour?
He looked down at himself, everything was a blur. He couldn't understand anything.
[Name: Johan Quincy Cole
Titles: His Final Miracle, Gamer, Genius, The Last Cole
Race: Human(?)
HP: 81%
MP: 99%
Age: 12
Occupation: N/A
Skills:
Description: Son of
His gaze flicked over everything, memorizing it with his eidetic memory before flicking over to what was causing him pain.
[Name: Devourer (Poor, Worn)
Titles: Mortal Slayer, Bane
Race: Stygian Steel Sword
Age: ?
Owner: ?
Skills:
Description: A sword made of Stygian Steel by an amateur blacksmith. Has killed many but hasn't been maintained very well. Has connected with its owner because of its long time use]
Everything raced through Johan's head like a monster escaping Tartarus
'The screen is back? Another monster? Aunty is dead? Am I next? Those titles, my titles- Typhoon? The monster god? Human question mark? What the hell do I do?'
Blood began dripping down his face as the ghoul removed his worn blade from his guts and his aunt's corpse. His aunt's face began to pale unnaturally.
'Move! Come on!' Johan tried to move, but his body was robbed of strength and a chill spread through his body from where he was stabbed.
'The sword… that
"Kieehehaha, It's been a while since I feasted on a clear sighted mortal. And a young demi to boot? The fates shine on me today." The ghoul cackled darkly.
The monster licked his blade clean with an unnaturally long tongue that had black spots on it.
'Ew, necrosis?' Johan mentally commented, before looking down at his wound to see something similar.
'Fuck, necrosis. No wonder I wasn't bleeding out. Fucker killed my flesh.' New plans had to be made in the face of this.
He could hardly think with the grief of his aunt's death on his chest both literally and figuratively, but his instincts, ones he never knew he had, worked over time.
"Oh? This taste. You don't even know it yet do you? Booo. They taste better when they know." The ghoul addresses Johan.
'Don't look at me you half dead freak!' Johan yelled out mentally, trying his best to find the ability to move.
"Glare all you want, unless your godly parent is a select few I doubt it'll do much. Tsk tsk." He tsked.
'Wait what?' Johan's mind halted, dots connecting.
'[Race: Human(?)], "And a young demi to boot? The fates…", [Skill:
"Kieehehehahhh, there it is, now you're getting it. But not fully. You boy, you're a demi-god. Son of some greek fuck who couldnt keep it to themself. So now your mommy had to die to little ol' me, and now I get to feast on the fruits of a god. Chieeehahaha! Your pops never came around right? Gods cant interact with their mortal spawn directly. All thanks to the God King boy. If so, maybe you wouldn't be dying today." The ghoul monologued, breathing in Johan's growing smell.
'This… Can't be true.' Johan said, taking a once over at himself again, drawing on instincts to bring up his status screen.
[Name: Johan Quincy Cole
Titles: His Final Miracle, Gamer, Genius, The Last Cole,
Race: Demi-God
HP: 78% (Aura of Undeath 1%, Necrosis 8%, bleed 2%)
MP: 98% (Aura of Undeath, 1%, Necrosis 8%)
Skills:
Description: Demi-god Son of
'Demi-god…' Was all that rung through his brain.
"Yessssss, YESSS! THAT'S the smell of a one who knows and understands." The ghoul licked his lips, drool escaping a hole in his mouth.
"Now boy, it's time to feast, don't run from it. I intend to take my time to savor you alive."
Johan didn't know if the strength he managed to wrestle control of in the time it took for the ghoul to monologue was enough, 'No! It has to be. Either this, or I die before I get to truly live. This world… So many things to learn! I refuse to die without understanding!'
With newfound resolve, his limbs twitched and obeyed him albeit sluggishly, his eyes fell onto his wound that was surrounded in black flesh.
[HP: 77% (Necrosis 7%, bleed 3%)
MP: 96% (Necrosis 7%)]
'It'll do!' Johan thought, and with an effort backed by the resolve to learn all that is learnable, he forced himself up. He felt his Aunt roll off of him gracelessly, he felt her blood drip from his chin, he felt his own blood leak from his stomach.
He felt rage.
'You'll pay!' His mind was focused. He was locked in.
"Ohoh? Was the strength boost of learning of your true self enough to allow you to shake off my Devourers bite? Interesting." The ghoul seemed content to play with his food.
'Think Johan! His sword, its short. But his arms are longer than your legs, his legs… fuck, theyre longer than my torso, he could get in and out of range without me being able to do anything. And he's a monster, probably stronger than me. His left leg is missing flesh, maybe even certain muscles. It could be a weak point.' Johan's eyes lit up as he deeply examined his foe.
"Mmmhn, that look, that smell. I can't WAIT to feast!" The ghoul moaned out before he charged.
He almost blurred in Johans sight.
*Zzwwshh*
And on what was nearly pure instinct, he ducked under a wild swipe from the ghoul that was aimed for his eyes.
"Shit!" Johan yelped.
He couldn't catch his breath, he heard the sound of the sword ringing through the air towards him again, and he had no choice but to roll towards the ghoul.
"Bad choice godling." Was all the ghoul said before swiping at Johan again.
'What? That noise, the swords behind me thoug-' Johan didn't get to finish his thought as pain raked across his face, from his ear to his mouth.
Johan screamed in pain as the Ghoul's claws carved into his face, taking pieces of his left ear, nose, and some of his bottom lip with him.
The ghoul licked his lips and chewed on his flesh as necrosis built up on his face, blurring his mind with pain and something sinister.
[HP: 62% (Necrosis 26%, bleed 9%)
MP: 91% (Necrosis 26%)]
'I cant… Fuck' Plans trudged through his mind as he fell away from the ghoul.
The ghoul simply watched as Johan clumsily fell away from him and shakily stood back up.
"Still got any fight left in ya? Chiiieehehehehhhh" He cackled sadistically.
'FUCK! THIS ISN'T WORKING! Stay away and that sword'll freeze me up again with that aura. Get close and I risk losing my eyes to those damned eyes. And FUCKING necrosis. Damnit! All I have is this screen that tells me shit! Shit I could figure out on my own! Fuck fuck fuck! Okay, I need a weapon! What can I use?' Johan was panicking, he couldn't figure out how to live.
"Little godling~ Do you forfeit? Should I just kill you now?" The ghoul taunted, licking his fingers still.
Something caught Johan's eye out of the corner of his eye, another screen, one that was off to the side of him.
[Quests:
>Find Out Your True Heritage<
Figure out what you really are(Completed)
Reward: Related Skill Level Up x2
>Who Were They<
Find out who your godly parent is.
Reward: Related Skill Level up
>Avenge Your Aunt<
Kill the ghoul that killed your aunt.
Rewards: Related Skill, Skill Level Up Token
>MY SOLDIERS RAGE<
Fight off the Aura of Undeath and stand up to your death. (Complete)
Rewards: Celestial Bronze Sword]
'So that Gamer title is there for a reason… Wait! Sword! Where is it? An inventory or something?' Johan wondered as an inventory screen appeared as he thought of it.
[Inventory- |Celestial Bronze Sword| ]
A screen with ten grids, if Johan counted correctly, appeared in front of him, and in one of them there was an item in it. Below the grid was the words 'Celestial Bronze Sword'.
'How do I get it? I need it! Fuck! Do I just …' Johan reached out towards the slow, and the screen, no, space Itself rippled as a sword materialized in front of him.
The ghouls gaze sharpened.
"Space manipulation? And a sword of that cursed metal? Who the fuck is your parent boy?" The ghoul no longer held whimsy in his voice.
'Okay Johan, you've got this.' Johan grit his teeth Through the pain and brandished his sword.
"Like a sharp baseball…" Johan muttered, calmly watching the ghoul in front of him, 'Brawlhalla taught me that being passive is the easiest way to win.'
"Damned god spawn! You think-" The ghoul said, charging him, "YOU CAN FUCK WITH ME!"
A flash of silver and a *Zwshh* was all the warning Johan had, and he barely deflected the sword. Well, less so deflected, and more so batted the damned thing away to his left.
This left them both over extended as Johan found his sword embedded in the concrete below and the ghoul ended up sliding just past Johan. Not without taking a chunk of Johan's forehead with his claws of course.
"ARGH!" Johan screeched in pain, both the pain off batting away the sword and of course the claws that cut him bone deep.
[Skill gained,
And right on time as Johan managed to steel himself through the pain and remove his sword from the ground. He spun on his heels and re-upped his guard, trying out a new stance clearly aimed at deflecting.
His eyes flicked to his own hands as he urged his observer skill to activate again.
[HP: 45% (Necrosis 32%, bleed 17%)
MP: 84%(Necrosis 32%)]
'Two more hits could kill me. But I've confirmed it. That damned leg. It is weaker. I'll win. I have to!' Johan glared at the ghoul. He was ready.
The ghoul in question was greedily gobbling at the flesh on his fingers.
'Gluttinous. But I feel like if I tried to charge at him I'd pay…'
[HP: 44% (Necrosis 32%, bleed 17%)
MP: 84%(Necrosis 32%)]
'And the damage over time. Fuck.'
"You actually deflected my slash. I can't let you escape and get stronger. I'll end you-" The ghouls dashed mid sentence again, but Johan was still prepared, "NOW!"
The ghoul stabbed at him instead of slashing, catching Johan off guard, but his instincts led him into a back step as he swept at the blade, leading him to awkwardly deflect it to his right. He wouldn't dare deflect him to the left and allow the ghoul to claw at him again.
Or so he thought. The thrust was weak. A feint! The ghoul spun around Johan's blade, disengaging the bind and led the spin with his claws for another swipe at his blackened face.
His eyes widened in panic as he instinctively ducked again. And then the sound of that damned sword rang Johan's ears.
*Zzzwssshh*
*DEATH*
Johan could feel it. If he didn't move. He'd die. A blind swipe above him might not be enough if it's a swipe from the opposite side, or if it's a well placed thrust. Rolling could roll him directly into the blade. Jumping? He may as well slit his own throat.
Time slowed down, his skill
He could… See it.
The entire fight sprawled out in a matter of milliseconds, drawn in black and white. The ghoul began the fight with a stab. The ghoul is right handed, so he pushed off with his left leg, stepping forwards with his right. The transition into a spin came so fast because of that, it began from his right leg. But now? The ghoul was on his left leg, and he could see the claws of the monster just next to his head. The body of the ghoul became clearer in his head.
He could see it. It could only be three attacks.
An overhead downwards stab, a similarly downward stab, but from the hip, or a wild wound up swing.
No wait- The sword didn't make such a sound when he stabbed at him before! It's a slash!
He's right handed, it's a slash, likely wild and winded up, with torsion energy from the spin.
A controlled overhead or a wild crescent slash?
'Doesn't matter, they both had a dead space. Right in front of me.'
He spent too long thinking, it was time for action. Another roll towards the ghoul who had overextended himself.
'Wait, I did this last-' were his last thoughts before pain wracked his nervous system.
"GUUUAAARRG!" It was overwhelming. It was a crescent slash or an overhead. It was an underhand slash. He didn't have enough time to think. Not enough experience. He fell victim to experience.
[HP: 11% (Aura of Undeath 5%, Necrosis 48%, bleed 29%)
MP: 43% (Aura of Undeath 5%, Necrosis 48%)]
Johan's senses dulled and blurred, he found himself lying face down on the ground, his back burning coldly and he felt his blood soak into his clothes despite the necrosis.
He couldn't move, not even adrenaline and
Tears welled up in his eyes, he couldn't do it-
'I did everything right! I don't know how to fight! How to use a sword! I CANT! How am I supposed to fight against this?' Tears fell down his face and mixed with the blood of the Coles and fell to the earth.
'Dad… Mom… Aunt- I'm- Im so sorry. I… cant.' He felt his adrenaline die. 11% HP, even a claw swipe could kill him, he couldn't stand, could fight back.
'I didn't even land a single hit on him…'
'I can't continue-' He almost kept the train of self-deprecating thoughts going, but something entered his vision.
[Skill gained
And then they continued once he read what it said, 'Oh joy, I might die of blood loss instead of necrosis.'
[Skill gained,
'Or I'll live juuust long enough for the ghoul to HAVE to finish me off. Amazing.'
[Skill gained,
'Level 0? Wait wait- Undeath affinity? What?' Johan didn't know what to think.
Slowly, the oppressive and chilling aura that previously paralyzed him seemed to energize him.
'What-'
[Titles: Alive in Undeath
HP: 17% (Aura of Undeath 3%, Necrosis 43%, bleed 24%)
MP: 45% (Aura of Undeath 3%, Necrosis 43%)
Johan was so shook that he finally heard what the ghoul was saying, back to monologuing now that he wasn't so scared.
"...on't you? You should feel the call of the underworld, of undeath. Cheh. Dirty gold born almost made me worried. I'll make sure to eat you as slowly and painfully as possible." The ghoul explained, licking his sword yet again.
'That Affinity for Undeath? Am I turning into a ghoul? Or is this gamer thing saving me?' Johan asked himself.
'No, he's monologuing again, my final chance! If I fuck up here, I'm dead. One last shot!'
[HP: 22% (Necrosis 41%, bleed 22%)
MP: 46% (Necrosis 41%)]
Johan found his senses back online, and he found that his sword was no longer in his hand.
'Fuck. Okay, where could it be?'
The battle field painted itself in his head in black and white. "Well, it's not like you can hear me huh? Let's just finish this." The ghoul sighed
'Double fuck! My sword is just in front of me, I must've dropped it when I rolled away from him after he slashed at my back. Okay, wait until his weight is on his weak leg, charge at him and slip my hand onto the swords and slash at his legs.' A plan came into mind almost immediately.
[Skill gai-] 'NOT NOW!'
As the ghoul's weight shifted to his left leg and his right foot began rising off the ground, Johan bolted like lighting, sword barely in hand.
"Wha-" The ghoul was undeniably shook. The boy should have died, or at the very least knocking on Chiron's boat. Not charging at him.
The ghoul faltered backwards, off of his left leg.
'Shit! Commit!' Johan screamed internally. He fumbled with his sword a bit before getting a good grip and taking a page out of the ghoul's book.
Mirrored form. Left in front of the right, weight on the right, upper body upright to draw the sword upwards, sword dragging just above the ground, hands near his hip, biceps and triceps engaged, back activated, two hands instead of one, as if swinging a bat. But he learned. He led with the blade, with the edge.
And with a single, swift stroke, he swung.
The ghoul reacted impeccably, placing his short sword in between the two. But it wasn't enough. His stance was terribly imbalanced. His sword was knocked out of his grip and into his own gut and Johan's sword bit into his groin, and cut upwards, barely missing his pelvis, and cleaving up into his ribs, stopping after slicing through two.
The ghoul's face fell, he couldn't breath.
"Guh- agh. You… Fuck." Was all he could say before dissolving into dust over Johan's sword.
[Great Achievement! Slay Your First Monster! Reward: Title and Related Skill.]
[Quest >Avenge Your Aunt< has been completed. Rewards: Related Skill, Skill Level Up Token]
Johan was frozen in place. This was a first. He didn't kill the last monster he saw. He and his aunt had run.
He shook.
Rage, sadness, exhilaration… Everything came crashing.
He fell to his knee, sword biting into the concrete. He had to catch his breath. Sort out his thoughts
-------------------------------------------------------------
Johan's status screen below, don't skip important yap. Gotta yap at the end of the first chapter y'know? It's only 591 words
Now first things first. Thank you for reading to the end and not skipping the yap. It's fairly important. First things first. Johan may "Have the gamer system" but if you couldn't tell, it's not the exact same. For one. No gamers body or mind. Two. Dungeons. Three, no hp count and all of that. And despite Johan somehow getting skills faster than the OG, I know, shocking, it's for good reason. This isn't permanent. You remember what the Ghoul said when Johan stood up?
"Ohoh? Was the strength boost of learning of your true self enough to allow you to shake off my Devourers bite"
That wasn't without reason. I intend for Demi-gods to get a related boost in strength once they learn of their true nature. And for Johan? Son of a god stated to be a "…great god of knowledge, games and growth."? stacked on top his skills On that note, Johan doesn't have levels does he? Or stats? How bizarre.
Beyond that note, the skills Also, how was the fight scene? I tried to make it realistic by flailing about in my room just like the characters. Criticize me so that I'll grow.
And should I change how the status screen is formatted? Because it feels kind of bad. With the next prestige of observation I can canonically change it. On that note.
Prestiging Skills.
The more astute among you may have noticed something weird next to the skills.
(P-I), (P-III) or (P-Max)
And if you wondered what it meant… Yeah, prestige. Or rank. Instead of changing the name of the skill once it hits level ten and evolves like in The Gamer. I just created a prestige system. Tough right?
Now boys, criticize me well. But don't just say "Oh this is bad", and expect me to improve much. Sure it helps more than silence, but I accept suggestions of all kinds and being directed from mistakes helps a shit ton.
And on the note of things I'm sure to get criticism on is Johan's thinking. I'm certain it was annoying, but I want you all to see how fast he thinks and how much he values knowledge sooo…. Yeah. Might have to change how I show that, looking forward to criticism on that.
Now asterisks allow readers to quickly look at what's changed since we last saw Johan's full status. Aka, when he first saw his own for now. So pretty much everything will have a star next to it.
Anyways, as per tradition before you get to the status screen. This chapter has 4.2k words Including status screens. Without them it might be around 2.8-3.5k. Pretty big.
I'll be using status screens as time goes on since the only time we'll get full status screens is if he meets someone new or at the end of the chapter. Now lets go ahead and see how our boy Johan has grown.
[Name: Johan Quincy Cole
Titles: His Final Miracle, The Gamer, Genius, The Last Cole, **Alive in Undeath, **Bane of Undead
**Race: Demi-God(God, Human)
HP: 20%
MP: 33%
Age: 12
Occupation: N/A
Skills:
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Description: Demi-god son of