Status

Name: Jake Ryder Lockstead

Race: Insignificance (0/1)

Class: N/A

Vigor: 1/10

Spirit: 0/10

Insight: 10/10

Skills: N/A

A green screen with black lettering was the only thing currently in Jake’s vision. It confused him greatly, as this was never something he’d seen before. What did it mean by Insignificance? Where had the screens even come from? He brushed those thoughts away, instead trying to focus on his surroundings.

He was thus reasonably shocked when he found he couldn’t focus on his surroundings, if they were truly even there. Everything around him was absolute darkness. Last he remembered, the boat he had been captain of for over 20 years, The Blue Rose, had sunk in a freak sea storm. He should by all means be dead, and perhaps he was, but he had a feeling he wasn’t.

As the boat capsized it had ripped his torso from the wheel, leaving his legs behind. He had been sure he wouldn’t survive, his only thoughts of his crew and family. Sure, they weren’t all perfect, but they had each others backs. Not one of his men had tried to escape in the final moments, instead choosing to go down with their captain.

His only regret while sinking had been his mother and brother back in the mainland. They could continue on without him, as he had set contingencies beforehand, but he knew their lives would be much worse without him regardless. He protected them from many dangers in the world, and no one dared mess with his family as long as he had been alive. Now no one could stop the scum of the earth from disturbing his family’s peace.

He sighed mentally, knowing there was nothing he could do about it at the bottom of the ocean. The ocean? Yes, somehow he was quite certain this was still the ocean.

Did that mean he could still try and get back to the mainland, in whatever form he was in now? There was a chance, and he refused to let it go if it meant he could get back to them.

He began mentally pushing with all his might to try and push himself in any direction. It didn’t matter what direction, it was all darkness anyways. As long as he could move. He strained with all his might, and at one point he swore he felt something when his vision was suddenly assaulted by another green screen.

Insight -2

Vigor +1

Vigor 2/10

Insight 8/10

He suddenly forgot what he was doing as he felt some of his mental faculties disappear. He felt bulkier though, and big means good.

[Woah there buccaneer! Slow your roll, before you get too dumb to realize you’ll die.] A lax, airy tone stated this directly into his mind.

Jake froze, suddenly very much aware of his current shortcomings. He tried to speak, but found himself lacking in the voice department.

[By the way, don’t worry too much about speaking right now. Considering what you are, trust me when I say that’s the least of your concerns.] It stated this knowingly, leaving Jake unsure if they could read his intentions.

[Name’s Roger, or least it is now. I’m what you’d call a Minor Dark Intent. Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean I’m evil, it just means the main Affinity of my Spirit is Darkness. It’s a pretty common one down here.] He had a very nonchalant tone, as though this was something everyone should know.

Jake was confused, which he could tell was going to be a pattern. First, why did this Intent, or whatever it called itself, have his first mate’s name? Second, just what the hell is Spirit? The screens mentioned it before, along with Vigor and Insight. He could guess that Vigor was akin to strength or constitution and Insight to mental capacity.

Insight +1

Insight 9/10

Skill Unlocked: Basic Reason 1/5

[Oh nice, I just felt that. I’m guessing you were thinking about something if you got some Insight. Yeah, that’s how you get more, which probably means you also got Basic Reason. That one’s basically a gimme once you figure anything out, but rolling around is harder. I’d recommend you wait until you’ve become at least an Inferior Intent before you try it.] Roger’s explanations were becoming both more confusing and more helpful.

From what Jake could tell, Roger was a veritable well of knowledge on whatever he was now. If Roger told him not to try moving, he wasn’t about to try it.

Insight +1

Insight 10/10

That pretty much confirmed it for him, as he was starting to realize that the system only really rewarded correct thoughts. He still didn’t know where it came from, but he at least knew it was giving accurate info.

Basic Reason increased to 2/5

[Wow, you’re really thinking up a storm there, aren’t ya. I’m glad I bubbled you, you’re making great progress. Oh right, you probably don’t know what that means. Well, to put it simply, you were dead. Sorry to be blunt, but it’s the truth. You were just a bunch of Insight floating around, looking for a host or something. So I basically put you in a bubble of vigor, which made you a rational, thinking being. Well, as rational as a pirate-turned-Insignificance can be. After that, I put you inside my area, that way you’re protected.]

Jake supposed this was why it was so dark, considering Roger had called himself a Dark Intent. He decided he’d think more on that in a moment, as he didn’t want to miss whatever Roger was saying.

[Sorry it’s so dark by the way, but if I didn’t hide you, oh boy would you be in real big trouble. See, right now, I’m collecting Dark Spirit around me, which would kill you without a thought if you were on the outside.] Roger stated the last part in a disturbingly relaxed tone, but that seemed to simply be the way he spoke. Jake tried his best not to think about it.

One thing did come across as interesting to him though. Roger stated something about Affinities earlier, and now he mentioned collecting Spirit. Jake was curious how he could do that and what the different Affinities were. If Dark was one, did that mean Light was another?

Basic Reason increased to 3/5

Well that basically shouted yes in his face. He pondered to himself if there was anything else he may have been missing. As he thought this, he became aware of Roger talking again. He seemed to quite like talking.

[...the different kind of Affinities I’ve found. By the way, you should probably check your Status when you get the chance. Agh, now my Status popped up. Anyways, it’ll help you figure out what you gotta do to get past Insignificance. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take me a while.] Roger continued on mumbling something about finicky systems, then stopped talking.

Jake supposed that was as good a step as any, but he wasn’t quite sure how to open that screen. Roger did mention it was called Status, which-

Status

Name: Jake Ryder Lockstead

Race: Insignificance (0/1)

Class: N/A

Vigor: 2/10

Spirit: 0/10

Insight: 10/10

Skills: Basic Reason 3/5

If Jake could yelp he would have, as his vision was suddenly filled with his Status screen. He really hoped that wasn’t how easy it was to open it, as even an idle thought would blind him. Mentally shaking his head, he decided to instead focus on Insignificance, hoping the system would give him more info.

Insignificance: A bubble filled with Insight with a shell of Vigor and any Spirit clustered at the center. Without any form of defense to speak of, even gathering life energies near one would kill it almost instantly. Roughly 3 mm in diameter and largely unnoticeable. Due to their small capacities and size they are unable to make any real impact on their surroundings.

Race Change Goal(s): Create 1 Spirit Gem of any kind.

Progress: 0/1 Spirit Gem(s)

Jake’s metaphorical jaw hit the invisible ground. He was currently 3 mm in diameter? It was no wonder he was so easy to kill, if even a pebble was bigger than him. He needed to figure out how to protect himself, and soon.

Basic Reason increased to 4/5

At that moment, he remembered what happened when he tried to roll earlier. He failed to do it, which he now assumed was because of Roger’s area, but he did gain Vigor. It was at the loss of his Insight, but it had made him bigger. He decided right then to try and put more Insight towards his Vigor.

[I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but improving your Vigor with Insight right now is not a good idea.] Roger still seemed chill as ever, but he was clearly chiding Jake for his poor judgement.

[It’s the hardest Core Energy to get more of, not to mention most important. Try gathering a bit of Spirit instead. It’s confusing to do at first, but you can use it for pretty much anything. You can take some from me for now. Don’t worry though, you won’t hurt me.] Roger had taken on a more encouraging tone, which put Jake in a better mood. Maybe it was because of his name, but Roger’s presence put Jake at ease.

Jake stopped trying to convert Insight to Vigor and instead focused his efforts on gathering Roger’s Spirit. It was all around him, how hard could it be?

After what felt like 20 minutes, Jake was starting to get annoyed. He hadn’t made any progress no matter what he tried, and he finally got tired of it. The system was no help either, as no new skill pop-ups of any kind came up. Frustrated, Jake realized he needed better communication with Roger. He wasn’t able to control Spirit yet, and he didn’t want to risk his Vigor, so he decided to use Insight. He’d used it before multiple times, so it was the most familiar to him.

He mentally pushed at his barriers, this time only trying to get his thoughts out rather than move himself. He turned his thoughts into a thin point, attempting to prick past the barrier. Just when he thought it wouldn’t give, he suddenly felt it pop through.

[Greetings.] That was the only word Jake sent through, and he felt a little embarrassed considering how long Roger had been talking to him.

Skill Unlocked: Mental Speech

Skill Unlocked: Inferior Insight Control 1/5