The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia Book 1)

by Michael Chatfield

  Level 10

  You have reached level 10; you have 35 stat points to use.

  “Holy—” Dave saw that he’d just risen two levels in stats and another 2 in Experience points.

  “Pretty good battle,” Max agreed.

  “My stats went nuts,” Dave said.

  “Well, yeah. You’re lower than all of us in level. Killing something that’s seventy levels above you is practically unheard of. Must be raining down Experience and extra stats,” Max said.

  Dave found it odd how Max was talking about the game mechanics, but it made sense. If he didn’t, then it would be hard for Players to ask questions constantly.

  “I gained an extra level from it.” Tounk wiped the area away in front of him. Almost as though he had been accessing an interface.

  “Be a good stew tonight.” Gurren laughed.

  Lox looked more serious as he nodded.

  “Well, you can clean the damn thing out then. How’s my chimney coming?” Dave asked.

  Joko grinned. “I’ll take him. Make us the strongest warband known. After some training, of course.”

  Lox grinned. It wasn’t a pleasant thing. “Well, if you want to train him, it’s your time.” He turned serious and looked back to the bear. “Haven’t seen these kinds of mobs out here for a long time. They must be feeding off some kind of well to get this strong.”

  “So, Dave, how about it? I teach you how to fight, instead of treating a bear like a damn tree, and you teach me how to make one of them houses?”

  Quest: Warband’s Training

  Joko sees something in you. She offers to teach you what she knows, if you are willing to do the same. Will you train as a Mithsia shield bearer?

  Y/N

  Yes. He was strong but it was clear that he needed to know more than just how to swing a woodcutter’s axe to fight.

  “Good! We’ll start training tomorrow. Today, let’s get this damn bear cut apart and we can add to that collection of meat we’re growing,” Joko said. “If you’re willing to part with thirty percent of the Karr meat, I’ll even turn it into jerky for you.”

  “I’d take the offer. Joko usually makes our meals. She knows her way with blade and salt,” Gurren said.

  The others nodded agreement.

  “Done.” Dave held out his hand to Joko.

  > You have agreed that 30% of the jerky Joko makes from the Karr she can keep.

  “I’ll teach you about cutting this bugger apart. After seeing those Karr, I know you have some learning to do!” Tounk got to his feet. His color returned as he drank a Health potion. His hit points regenerated faster.

  “We’re off to get that damn chimney done.” Lox and Gurren wandered off. Lox grunted and looked in Dave’s eyes, as if he saw something he liked.

  “Lox approves of you.” Tounk clapped Dave.

  Dave saw his Health dip slightly.

  “You’re stronger than you look,” Dave said.

  “Interesting things come in small packages.” Tounk winked and moved to the bear.

  “That’s what she said?” Dave said slowly.

  Tounk turned around, looking annoyed, but his beard shifted as he tried to keep down a laugh. “Damn rock troll.” Tounk shook his head.

  Dave grinned and joined Tounk for his lesson on dealing with their fresh kill.

  Chapter 11: Time to Train

  Dave was woken up as the sun was just rising.

  “Up and at ’em!” Joko poked Dave hard enough to bruise. He got up as Joko poked him more and more.

  Gurren was on watch with a grin showing through his beard as he looked away from Dave’s punishment.

  “First, we’re going to try to increase your Intelligence as much as possible to speed this up,” Joko said.

  “My Intelligence?” Dave asked, confused.

  “You didn’t think your stats were just there to put stats in, did you?” Joko’s face darkened as she saw Dave’s expression.

  “What damned useless town did you crawl out of? Have you never seen a pit in your life? Plenty to learn down there and understand what’s going on around you!” She tugged her beard and sighed. “Okay, so open up your stats and link them to me.”

  “How?”

  Over the next five minutes, she showed him how to open his stats, and then look to her; an outline surrounded her so he could send her stats. She went through the party functions of how to add people.

  Then she looked at his skill sheet with him.

  Character Sheet

  Name:

  David Grahslagg

  Gender:

  Male

  Level:

  3

  Class:

  -

  Race:

  Human/Dwarf

  Alignment:

  -

  Unspent points: 35

  Health:

  1200

  Regen:

  0.54 /s

  Mana:

  260

  Regen:

  1.15 /s

  Stamina:

  240

  Regen:

  1.30 /s

  Vitality:

  12

  Endurance:

  14

  Intelligence:

  26

  Willpower:

  23

  Strength:

  24

  Agility:

  26

  “So, Vitality is linked to how many risks you take; the more risks you take, the more alive you feel. It’s why some of the idiots who climb over mountains or run through abandoned mines have the highest hit points.

  “Intelligence is based on how smart you work—smarter, not harder. You building that house with your smarts and own hands helped out a lot there. You build something new or innovative to your mind, you’ll gain more Intelligence than someone just pouring metal into a casting.

  “Strength—do I really have to cover this? The more you lift and train, the more you get.

  “Endurance is based on how much you push past your limits or stay close to them. You had used most of your Stamina to help with the shield wall yesterday. Still, you attacked the bear with everything you had. You continuously drained your magic.”

  “Willpower—now this is an odd one. This takes dedication. If someone tells you you can’t do something but you do or at least try it, then you get better Willpower. With the bear, if you knew the high level it was and attacked it anyway, that’s Willpower. Most people would run away with a stream down their leg. You ran toward it. That needs stones—or stupidity.”

  Dave winced under her glare. It was obvious which of the two she was thinking.

  “Agility. The Elves know more about it—those tall points love jumping around. They’re flexible and they know their bodies and their limits. They’ve got high Agility and can seem to run forever or let out multiple arrows or stabs in a single breath. It’s a sight to behold.” Joko looked a bit impressed.

  “So, we’re learning Intelligence because?” Dave asked.

  “The higher your Intelligence, the faster that you’ll learn the other skills. If you are smarter, then it’s only natural that you pick up on things faster than others.” She pulled a book out of her bag, and then another and another.

  “You will hold a shield and read until you have read every single thing in these books.” Joko finished with a dozen books. “Go get my shield and put it on your arm, boy. It’s time we started. While you read and learn, I will ask you questions on the cabin.” She smiled.

  What the hell did I get myself into? Dave grabbed her shield, which had its points stuck into the ground. It weighed a hundred pounds easily.

  “Foot back, squat down, lean forward, arm bent—that will work for now,” Joko said.

  “Are you trying to make this hurt as much as possible?” Dave complained. He got a hit on the top of the head from a stick.

  “Quiet, recruit. In a warband, you live in discomfort. Your shield and sword are your constant companions. You will hold them until they are rip
ped from you and you are dead. Hand.”

  Dave held out his empty hand.

  She put her sword in it, adjusting his arms until it was extended just five inches in front of his shield. “Now, start reading, boy.”

  “How will I flip pages?”

  “Use your toes.” She walked away.

  Dave started reading the first book. It was about how warbands operated. By the fifth page, his frame started to shake.

  He fed Mana into his own body and circulated it. His Stamina started to fill; the pain eased away as his Mana fell. He didn’t cast Touch as he focused on reading.

  It was an interesting history of how the Dwarves had faced trolls in their ancestral home. They’d fought in mining groups, though they needed equipment. They had first made art; they turned it to weapons as they went farther into the mountains and found harder creatures that spawned and attacked their crews.

  The mining crews became warbands. Only the strongest were picked. They worked together to mine as much ore as possible. Then, if a monster appeared, they would work together again to defeat the enemy.

  They might be called warbands, but they shared a party bond. They could link to one another in a fight without having to do the linking that Joko had told him about. It was how Dave had been added to their warband by simply fighting with them.

  The warband’s tactics were simple. They would all face the enemy; five Dwarves-wide was the width of Dwarven mines. They might look like rogue vagabonds but they were OCD in their mining.

  There was a warband leader; they would call out names. Those called would take aggro and the warband would use the mine’s walls to create a circle around the creatures. It took precision and trust. It also took using your shield for possibly hours and then going back to swinging a pick to gather ore that their fiefdom needed.

  As the day progressed, Dave read the books faster and faster. He finished with the books and started to look up tactics from Earth’s histories.

  ***

  “Can you really believe that he’s only a level 3?” Max asked Gurren.

  Gurren looked at Dave, who was looking at the book at his feet; his eyes twitched as if reading, but there was nothing in front of him to read.

  Joko also wandered past, asking about the timbers, or the pad of the house, and their purposes.

  Dave answered without looking from his books.

  “Joko said that he’s closer to 13 with all of his points. She says that he’s probably not invested his other stat points. If you don’t invest the 5 stat points you get every level, then your level doesn’t appear to go up. He’s grown his stats independent of the extra points he would get from acquiring higher levels,” Gurren said.

  “He hasn’t lowered his shield once. I was touching the ground all the time when I started.” Max rubbed the back of his head, remembering the cane his training leader had used.

  “If you look closely, you’ll see he’s self-healing. Probably why he stood there through lunch. Joko is training his Intelligence, Strength, Willpower, and Endurance in one shot,” Gurren said, proud of both Joko’s abilities and Dave’s resolve.

  “Shame that you’re going to have to cook the food now.” Max laughed.

  Gurren pushed the kneeling dwarf over, stirring the pot they were around. “Go get me some of those Purple-drops roots. Will help the meat out some.”

  “Get Ever-weed too,” Dave whispered.

  “And Ever-weed,” Gurren said, as if it was his own idea.

  “That’s cheating.” Max stood. “At least, it’ll be edible!”

  Gurren made to stand as Max jogged off, laughing as he went.

  ***

  Time was a relative thing. To Dave, it passed quickly, as if the world around him had been sped up. Mana flowed through his body more easily as information on fighting styles filled him. He ran through forums and read other books on fighting. He understood the wind-runner attacks of wood Elves, the light-bringer attacks of the high Elves, the Dwarven fortification works of warbands, smithies, and Earth mages.

  Someone hit him with something. He disregarded it. They hit until they drew blood. Words passed too fast to understand. Dave’s body healed. He was hit and smacked. Finally, someone tried to attack Dave with a sword.

  Time returned to normal. He pivoted, bashing with his shield, turning the blade as he moved forward with his own, a move perfected by the Dwarven warbands.

  His blade stopped inches from Lox’s stomach.

  Dave returned to his original position with a single movement.

  “Oi! Put the shield down!” Joko said.

  Dave slammed the shield into the ground. His Earth magic secured it in its position by feel rather than conscious decision. A wave of nausea came over him. He spread Mana through his body as he took a knee. His body shook from exertion.

  “Eat this, boy,” Gurren said.

  Thick broth went down Dave’s mouth. It was sweet ambrosia.

  “You sure you made this?” Dave asked, getting a few laughs. They sounded somehow nervous as he ate a full bowl. He felt as if he hadn’t eaten in days. Someone passed him a waterskin and he drank from it.

  “You’ve been standing there all day, circulating Mana through yourself to keep yourself going. Where were you?” Joko asked.

  “I was learning.” Dave looked at the sword in his hand. He passed it to Joko. In a warband, a dwarf’s life was his shield, armor, and his blade.

  It seemed stamped in his mind.

  “Well, seems we’ll make a shield bearer out of you yet, boy,” Lox said with approval.

  Dave grinned and finished off the waterskin as he looked at his home.

  His thirst fell away as he stood slowly. It was a simple dwelling. At one side, there was a stone chimney. The walls were interlocked timber at the ends and clay sealed it shut. The roof’s tiles shone in the sun with their rainproof layer.

  The windows were rough holes cut into the wood, with shutters over them. The door was similar, but bigger and made from hardy planks nailed together.

  It was simple and purpose-built. It was his.

  Dave walked to his home, continuing to circulate Mana. It smelled of trees and clay. He laughed as he went inside, finding his rough floors covered in wood chippings and with the same waterproofing as the tiles.

  He went out through the door on the opposite side of the house, onto the balcony that rested under an overhang, and looked out over the land that surrounded his hill. The Dwarves came around the side of his home, all grins and smiles.

  “Well, it ain’t much and it’s no mountain, but it’s a home,” Lox said.

  “Come here, you upright bastard, you.” Dave walked over to the dwarf and hugged him.

  “Oh, get off me!” Lox complained as the others all laughed.

  Dave put him down, laughing, and looked at the Dwarves.

  “Well, let’s go and see what poison Gurren is cooking up!” Tounk said.

  “Ah, tonight, the meal’s on me. I’ve got a special treat I’ve been holding awhile,” Dave said.

  “You’re going to need that strength tomorrow,” Joko warned.

  “With all of this, I don’t think anything could get me down.” Dave waved to the entirety of Emerilia.

  He pulled out the Fire Foxes, preparing them and looking at his notifications. He almost cut off his finger when he looked at the new stat page.

  Stat Increase

  +8 Willpower

  +7 Strength

  +8 Intelligence

  +12 Endurance

  “Something the matter?” Max asked.

  Dave relayed them his increase in stats. All of the Dwarves looked impressed but not surprised.

  “You have never trained that way before. It’s like you’ve opened up a new path through a forest: at first, it was hard and you got some immediate rewards. Later, those rewards will come slower but they will still be useful,” Joko said.

  “So, I got really high because I hadn’t been trained that way before. So, now it will
have diminishing returns if I do it again,” Dave said.

  “Correct. That’s why we will be doing different training tomorrow.” Her eyes seemed to gain a glint of bloodlust as her teeth showed. “Tomorrow we train you to fight as if you are not part of a warband.”

  ***

  Again, Dave woke with a poke in the ribs.

  “Today, we’ll find out what your personal weapon should be. Up you get—we’ve got training to do!” Joko sounded almost pleased and the Dwarves looked on in interest.

  Dave rubbed his tired eyes. He felt taller and stronger than ever as he rolled his shoulders.

  Joko gave him a wooden stick. “Okay, you’re going to try to hit me. I’ll use that to figure out what kind of weapon best suits you.”

  “You sure?” Dave swallowed, hard. The expression of amusement mixed with bloodlust on Joko’s face made him regret the words.

  “Come on, halfling, let’s dance!” She batted his arm away and smacked him in the side; it smarted a bunch as she was many times stronger than him.

  Dave forgot the things like not hitting a girl and advanced on Joko.

  She moved, sometimes hitting or attacking him back. Though for the most part, she seemed interested in watching him. She held up a hand and Dave let the stick fall as he breathed heavily.

  “You spend too much damned time in them woods. You’re suited for two axes.” She looked to Lox.

  “Give him to me. I’ll teach him a thing or two about war-axes.”

  Dave let out a low moan, only widening Lox’s grin.

  ***

  Deia walked along with the dwarf Kol. He was horribly disfigured; his eyes were lost to him, but still he walked on without the need of an aide. Instead, he was with Deia out of curiosity rather than needing any help.