Chapter 1. Baptism…
***
Within the south gate of the town, a single guard watches over the forest of uncertainty. This area was the closest to the sea, where high-level monsters exist.
If one of these monsters ever comes to this gate, certain damage will undoubtedly unfold. It may result in the death of thousands within minutes of their arrival, even so.
The sole guard of this gate ensures that he misses not a single day in guarding this area. "Another boring day…" the guard mused yawning over. "I guess it's not really one…"
Recalling the date of today, the guard remembers that an event was unfolding in the center of town.
Resting his eyelids for a moment, he suddenly heard something moving within the forest. Gripping his spear tightly, he didn't hesitate to throw it in the direction from which the noise was coming.
"Ahhh!"
"....." The guard was silent for a moment. He was sure a shriek would happen at the end of it, but instead, a scream happened. Not only was it a scream but a human-like one.
Slowly within the area where he threw his spear, a figure appeared. "Around 5'8, brown skin, black eyes and hair… age around 15 years old."
Examining the figure, he found it peculiar; normally, all these traits were something that Eastern people would typically possess. But this town was at the edge of the west far from the east.
"I'm human!" The figure screams holding the guard spear in his hand with his other hand raised in the air. "I'm not a bad person." He followed up, still keeping his hand in the air.
"Name yourself!" The guard demanded glaring at the man from the forest. The man didn't hesitate to do what he told to and started introducing himself.
"My name is Q.... Jake, I'm nothing but a traveling person. A week… no, two weeks ago I got lost in the forest, this is the first time I've spotted a town since then."
Hearing the introduction of the man, the guard activated one of his skills. "You tell me your name again!" He demanded once more keeping a stern expression on his face.
"It's Jake." The man replied quickly. Seeing how the man replied with the same name he knew he was lying then.
BAM!!
A sudden eruption of a spell broke out in the sky, reminding the guard of today's event. Still hesitant about the person before him, he knew he needed to send this person there before it was too late.
"Give me my spear and follow me." The guard said, quickly taking his spear back from the man and running towards the center of the town.
The man was confused about the guard's sudden change, and willingly followed him behind, pushing aside his confusion.
— — —
Nearing the center of the town, the guard let out a sigh, seeing how it still hadn't started yet. The man following him let out a sigh, seeing the number of people gathering within the center of the town.
"What's with this place?" The man accidentally asked, wondering what was happening. Before someone could even give him an answer the guard pushed him from the back.
….!?
"What?" The man said, looking back at the guard.
"Go there with those people!" The guard said, pointing at the group of people in the center of the town waiting for the temple set on it to open.
Seeing how he was being told what to do he didn't hesitate to take the guard's words and walked toward the group of people within it.
"Jake, what's happening?" He asked himself, looking at a group of people who were around his age. He simply followed the instructions of the guard since he was afraid of being put in jail.
Now, here right in front of the temple gate, he was alone while the people around him had their own group.
Before he could even look back at the guard, the temple's giant wooden gate started creaking, while the people's loud talking went silent.
There, before the thousands of people, a group of young and beautiful priestesses appeared one by one from the open gate of the temple, carrying a box with them.
After the seven priestesses appeared within the temple another one quickly followed up. It was the Priest of the temple, wearing a white robe that covered him entirely, only leaving his head and face open.
In his hand, a golden staff with a single ruby on it was set. Tapping the floor twice to the floor, the Priest roared out:
"Congratulations, everyone, on surviving another year!" Followed up with the people screaming in all directions. After a while, the people started to quiet down.
Jake, who did not know what was happening, was confused about it. But he felt like it was something he should not concern himself with, along with not thinking badly about it.
"I know everyone already knows what I'm about to say but I will still do it." The Priest said, his voice still heard even with Jake tens of meters away from that temple font.
"From today onward, all of you who are before the temple will go to a baptism. The world is cruel, but the Gods within the Divine realm are merciful enough to give everyone a skill of their own." He paused for a bit letting the people in front of Jake take his message within themselves.
"Remember this, there is no such thing as a weak skill, only a weak user." The message was small yet powerful, even for Jake, who was still in confusion about what was happening.
"Well then, everyone, may the skill you'll receive be something you want." Before Jake even processed the Priest's word, the priest tapped the ground with his staff once again. This time, a total of five taps.
At the end of those taps, Jake saw the Priest staff glowing in all colors. The Priest tapped the staff end on the ground again, making the eighth tap in total.
Creating this wave of energy that waves through the people in front of the temple. One by one, the people who were at the front disappeared completely at the moment the energy touched them.
Jake, seeing this, took a step back, his heart pumping faster than before. He wanted to run away from there but was unable to do so, looking down he spotted the invisible line where the spectators of the events did not cross.
"Shit! I can't leave." Looking up, he found that people who were in front were already gone, he was the last one left. Seeing how the energy was about to touch him, he instinctively closed his eyes.
....!?
The moment he opened his eyes again, he found he was nowhere in the area he was before. The place before him now was the calm ocean surface.
"What?" More and more his confusion stacked up, before he could even mutter another word an angel rose from the water, holding a stone plate with her.
Before Jake could even admire the looks of the angel, multiple hovering Golden White panels appeared before him.
{~~~ Congratulations, you have successfully gone to a baptism of the temple ~~~}
Within the Golden White panels, words were engraved on them, but the voice was coming from the angel who stood before him.
"A system panel..?" A surge of happiness within Jake ignited within him, seeing the panel before him.
{~~~ You will now receive your own Zero skill ~~~}
{~~~ Examining your Soul ~~~}
{~~~ Error! Error! Error! ~~~}
{~~~ Your Soul is not part of this world ~~~}
{~~~ Unable to give a Zero skill to you ~~~}
Gazing at the panels before him, Jake's emotions stirred. Does this mean he will not receive anything in this place and come back empty-handed?
Before his emotions turned for the worse he felt multiple Entities gazing into his eyes. Before he could react in fear to these Entities, multiple panels came forward before him again.
{~~~ Your Soul has been registered ~~~}
{~~~ The Gods have found your existence… ~~~}
{~~~ Pleasing ~~~}
{~~~ The God of Knowledge and Wisdom has decided to give you your Zero skill ~~~}
{~~~ You have received the Zero skill: …. ~~~}
"That's my skill?" Staring at the skill he received, Jake's emotions turned back to happiness once again.
{~~~ Creation of your status window will now commence ~~~}
{~~~ Giving the necessary things ~~~}
[Status Window
Name: Jake
Age: 15. Mental: 19
Level: 1
Zero Skill: ….
---
Stats:
Strength: 14 (Average)
Agility: 10 (Low)
Defense: 8 (Low)
--
Mana: 10 (Lowest possible)
Vitality: 7 (Lowest possible)
Stamina: 19 (High)
--
Intelligence: 18 (High)
Endurance: 9 (Low)
Luck: 7 (Average)
---
Active skills: None.
Passive skills: Hold breathing Level 10.
Resistance skills: None.
---
Additional points: 15
Skills points: 15
Blessings: God of Knowledge and Wisdom.]
Before Jake's eyes was the common blue panel he had seen countless times, before he could even get to the entire thing, he felt something touching his shoulder.
Then, with a sudden force, he fell into the water. Like before he instinctively closed his eyes. By the time he opened them again, he was back in front of the temple.
"Congratulations on your baptism!" A priestess said, giving him a card.
"What?" Jake, with the endless jump of the event, was still confused about what was happening around him.
'Please let me take my time to get things right!!" He screamed inward, taking the card from the priestess.
*****
AUTHOR NOTE: this series has a nad narrator and would repeat some explained subject over and over again.