Free Origin ARS 5 by Scottie Futch Page A

mood.
    Scott blinked then leaned his head back a
little. He acquired a thoughtful expression then said, "I
see..."
    "Don't worry about it too much. Just go forth
into adventure young man." she said before releasing him from their
parting hug.
    Scott patted her on the shoulder. "Thanks for
everything Mid, even the bunny murder quest."
    "All in a day's work, little brother ."
said Mid warmly.
    He offered her a brief smile then turned
toward the glowing door. It was time to move on, even if he had so
much more that he wanted to learn. Even attempting to train further
in this place would cause a crippling headache. It was time for
real training in the world beyond.
    Scott walked through the door and Mid sighed
a little at his passing. "Might as well log out and let the system
take over." Mid called up a logout screen then hit the little red
button that would let her do exactly that. Her avatar slumped
forward and started to snore. Soon it shimmered vibrantly and then
changed shape into a fairly short elderly woman. Any new entrants
to the world or returning reincarnates would be greeted by the
system version of Mid, and not the true deity.
    The twilight sorcerer walked through a
corridor made of light and out into a dimly lit room with smooth
stone walls. He blinked several times rapidly as his eyes adjusted
to the light levels then looked around.
    The floors, walls, and ceiling were all of a
single uniformly grey color. The only things of note in the room
were a small steel framed cot in the corner of the room, a silver
mirror that hung on the wall, and a metal table with a little metal
box sitting atop it. "Cozy."
    He checked the mirror first to be sure of
what he suspected. He smiled when he realized that it was, in fact,
a salvation mirror. "Useful!"
    Scott went to check out the box. He opened it
up and saw several miniaturized items sitting inside and a normal
sized envelope. He found that to be a bit strange. Did they use
envelopes in medieval times? He knew this world was supposed to be
different from the casual server, but was it really that
different?
    He opened the envelope and found a letter
inside along with ten silver coins. The coins were stamped with an
image of a goddess with her arms spread wide on one side, and the
sideways head of the same goddess on the other. There was a little
motto written on the bottom. "In Origin we trust, huh?" asked
Scott, an amused smile rising up on his lips. The letter inside was
quite interesting as well.
     
    [Mission Briefing]
     
    Hellraising Hellions

    Thank you for coming to the aid of the Valkovian
Empire at this time of need. The agreed upon monetary fee and
special equipment that you required for this task have been left
here as per your request.
     
    The empire thanks you for your service, citizen.
     
    Mission Requirements: Defeat the Hellions that
have taken over the 34th Street Subterranean Transit Authority
building. Be warned, they are heavily armed.

    Success: Defeat the Hellions 40/40
     
    Failure: If you flee the area before the task
is complete.
     
    Reward(s): 20 Silver Fayth, Special Equipment,
1 Salvation Crystal
     
    [—]
     
    "The hell? Is this how quests are given in
this world? That's pretty neat." Instead of a screen popping up, he
had received a letter.
    The other items in the metal box were
doll-sized versions of gloves and common equipment. Scott reached
in and carefully took out an item that looked like a tiny brown
leather vest. He was greatly surprised when it shimmered then
expanded in his hand.
    "Whoa... Now that's neat!" Instead of
an inventory screen they had something like this? Amazing! They
were right about the place being both fantastic but focused on
realism. It had game mechanics like this, but they were all
integrated into the world instead of floating around in a
distracting manner.
    Scott stared at the reddish brown leather
vest in his hand for a moment. He was attempting to use the skill
[ Analyze ]. It was a class skill that would allow