Tim let out a low groan sitting up, feeling like the tail end of a hangover, moving his hands instinctively to his head. His eyes shot open. looking around, suddenly aware that he was surrounded by trees.

  He quickly assessed himself, turning his gaze down. His familiar stomach was missing, now more lean, his khakis were now worn leather, and his shirt was now loosely fit cotton linen shirt.

  Pressing a hand to his stomach, he noticed it was surprisingly firm. But the oddity didn’t stop there. His arm, which was still resting on his stomach, had a strange green tint to it. He quickly looked at his other arm—it was the same.

  ‘Did I get a bad body? Am I sick? Is my mind or soul not adjusting well to this new body?’ his mind raced. Till unfamiliar voice came from behind him.

  “Ah you are awake.”

  Tim turned toward the voice and seeing a ebony skinned elf. The elf smiled warmly at him

  “A bit surreal isn’t it?” He asked.

  “Simon?” Tim asked and Simon nodded back. “Yeah, we could have probably sat with Glean for days asking questions, don’t think it would have prepared me for this.”

  “Yeah. If he didn’t mention the body change, I'd be freaking out a little. I woke up a bit ago near you. I was a bit shocked by the body too, but I tried opening the character page like Glean told us. Everything became clear after that. I thought you were the body next to me, I tried to wake you, you snored at me, so I let you be.” Simon explained.

  “Well he said new bodies but I guess race didn’t click in my head.” Tim said, eyeing his hairy green tinted arms.

  “Yeah,” Simon nodded. “I am what this world calls a moon elf–a sub-race of dark elves. Apparently some of them left the underworld to make a life on the surface. Over the years evolved a bit differently. I don’t have full dark visio, but I’ve got night vision. I can handle the sun, too. It’s kinda cool.” He paused. “My stats changed, too. You should take a moment to look yours over.”

  Tim took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air. He looked around—tall trees, calf-high grass, birds chirping—and, for some reason, he felt more at home here than he ever had on Earth. Maybe it was his new body, or maybe it was the realization that he had a second chance at life. Whatever it was, it felt right. Following Simon’s advice, Tim opened his interface.

  Name: Cromus

  Age:22

  Level: 1

  Exp: 0/400

  Health: 120/120

  Mana: 100/100

  Stamina: 100/100

  Stats

  Strength: 12

  Dexterity: 10

  Constitution: 12

  Intelligence: 10

  Wisdom: 12

  Charisma: 8

  Race: Half-Orc: A race of an orc and human mix. Seen as a descendant of a violent race, other races shy away from you, you will receive a negative two percent to any charisma checks with other races. Though there is not only bad news with this race, thanks to your orc heritage you are more sturdy than most other races, able to face terrors others wouldn't dare, and able to stomach things that would sicken most. You have night vision, in areas of low light you are able to see normally.

  Path: Gaia's Warrior: A warrior for the planet, friend to the forest and beasts alike, this path allows you to cast spells of nature and use equipment modified from the earth, as well as allows you to improve your own capabilities from stats of animals, and have animals assist you later in levels. Gain bonuses when interacting with animals.

  Abilities

  Animal Link: Once a day you are able to choose an animal who is neutral towards you and create a telepathic link with the chosen animal for twenty four hours or until you sever the link.

  Identify (inferior): The basic ability that most intelligent being, can be used to identify items, creatures, and other humanoids.

  Spells

  Heal (inferior): You are able to spend Ten mana to heal you or a willing target for ten hit points.

  Nature's Assistant: You can spend four mana to help a plant grow a stage in its growth or remove any harmful effect it may have. The bigger the growth or larger effect consumes more mana.

  Animal Affinity: You are able to spend fifty mana to manifest one animal body part on your body for ten minutes.

  Skills

  Universal Translate: No worrying about language barrier, anything spoken, or read will be translated to a language you understand.

  Animal Empathy: From a easy glance you are able to determine an animal's demeanor to you, as well as having a better understanding of how to improve the demeanor.

  Tim closed his character sheet, his brow furrowed. “Looks like my stats have dropped. Some of them took a hit.”

  “I honestly thought the same thing but then I started to think, what if this is because these bodies are new, and we just received the base stats and our race stats? My stats got a boost in intelligence, and charisma, but I took a huge hit in constitution. I had a fourteen constitution back home, here it’s an eight, it’s not so great.” Simon replied standing back up from his bag.

  “Yeah, that makes sense,” Tim said, looking around. He noticed another bag lay nearby.

  “Well, I guess I can’t complain too much,” Simon continued. “I had a feeling something like this would happen. Race and class definitely play a role in shaping things.”

  Tim picked up his bag. “That's right you got to hear what I chose but I never got to know what you chose.”

  Simon’s grin widened. “I had three choices, just like you.” He held up his fingers. “First, rogue, which seemed cool but a bit limiting—sneaking around and picking people off is nice, but I like having more options. Second, cleric, which could be great, but I wasn’t sure if that meant I’d have to serve some almighty being. Didn’t want to risk losing abilities if I upset something I didn’t understand.”

  He held up his final finger. “Third, and my choice…” He paused for dramatic effect. “Clockwork Summoner.”

  Tim blinked. “Clockwork Summoner? I know what a summoner is, but clockworks?” He awkwardly lifted his arm moving around with clunking noises.

  Simon chuckled. “Yeah, it was a bit vague at first, but I took the gamble, and boy, did it pay off. I got the summoner abilities, plus clockwork crafting. At some point, I should be able to build guns, grappling hooks, flamethrowers—stuff like that!”

  “Guns in a world like this? That could be overpowered,” Tim mused.

  “That's not even the best part!” Simon’s eyes sparkled. “My spells all seem to be support, or a summoning of some kind. Summon familiar, Summon clockwork defender, haste, enhance strength, clocked and heal inferior. It’s perfect! I was hoping to find ways to boost us and summon some help, and it worked out!”

  Tim grinned, digging through his bag. Inside, he found the typical adventuring gear: rope, a canteen ‘fresh water, thank goodness’, three clear containers of red liquid, three more with blue liquid, and three with green. There were also torches, food that looked like beef jerky and crackers, a longbow with arrows, and a scimitar.

  “Hey, what did you get in your bag?” Tim asked, glancing over at Simon.

  Simon listed off similar items, with one difference: “I got a crossbow instead of a longbow.”

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  “Huh, interesting,” Tim said. “I wonder why that is.”

  Simon shrugged. They both looked around at the dense woods. “We should probably find a civilization,” Tim suggested.

  “Maybe,” Simon replied. “But being out here in the middle of nowhere could be a boon. Who knows? We might find something no one’s discovered yet, or even a rare race we can befriend and progress faster.”

  Tim chuckled. “True. And if you learn guns, that’d be a game-changer in itself. Plus, those spells sound useful.”

  “Exactly!” Simon said, standing up. “Let’s test our spells before we do anything else. We need to know how they work in case we run into trouble.”

  Tim smiled. ‘Well, looks like Simon beat me to that idea.’ “Aye, aye, Captain,” he said with a mock salute.

  Simon rolled his eyes. “Hey, you could’ve said, ‘Great minds think alike, Simon. Let’s get to it!’ You catch more flies with honey.”

  Tim beamed. “Hey, I’m the crazy animal guy. You’re the smooth talker.”

  Simon laughed. “True. You’ve got the charisma of a brick wall, so good luck with that.”

  “Right.” Tim considered his spells, there wasn't anything to heal. So two of his spells were a no go. Animal Affinity it is. Tim concentrated on his right arm and willed it to turn into a grizzly bear’s foreleg. Tim felt something leave his body, his hand blurred under a light brown glow, around it was a grizzly bear's forearm. It was fuzzy to see through but Tim could see his hand and arm inside it.

  Tim stretched the bear’s fingers, marveling as they mimicked his movements, then gave a wide smile. “Holy shit, this is unreal!” He showed it to Simon.

  Simon reached out, feeling the fur. “Yeah, definitely surreal.”

  Tim walked over to the nearest tree and lashed out with the bear claws, four deep claw marks leaked sap in his wake.

  Tim reached out with his left hand, placing his palm on the fresh scars he had just created, and closed his eyes in concentration. He focused on willing the spell into existence. As expected, he felt his energy drain again. When he opened his eyes, his hand was glowing a soft green, the light spreading over the claw marks. He started to realize that the feeling of something leaving his body was probably his mana. Less than a minute later, the tree was fully restored.

  Opening his character information, he saw his mana was at 40 out of 100. Healing the tree had cost him 10 mana instead of 4—4 for the initial effort and 6 more to finish it. Not bad, he thought.

  For healing damage to nature, your mana regeneration is going to double for twenty minutes. regenerating at twenty percent per minute instead of the regular ten percent per minute.

  “Thank you my warrior for healing the tree.”

  Tim blinked in surprise. He had healed the tree, and Gaia had granted him a boon. “Guess that’s the reward for my class choice.” he thought, turning back to Simon, who was watching him intently.

  "So, that was two of your spells? How much mana do you have left?" Simon asked as Tim walked toward him.

  "Fourty out of one hundred," Tim replied. "But because I healed the damage, my mana regeneration doubled. I should be back to full in about five minutes."

  Simon raised an eyebrow. “So, if you have a base mana of one hundred, what’s your intelligence modifier?”

  “Ten.” Tim replied.

  “Alright that means, every point in intelligence ups your mana by ten points. Cause I have twelve intelligence giving me a one hundred and twenty mana pool.” Simon said

  “Makes sense. My constitution is twelve, so I have a health pool of one hundred twenty, too.” Tim replied before his brow forward, as the thought of Simons eight in con came to mind.

  "Tim," Simon said, his voice firm. "I know that look. You're already thinking of protecting me. Not happening. I’ve got some solid spells to help me stay out of combat, and help you too. I’m not some helpless damsel, alright?"

  Tim frowned, but before he could respond, Simon focused, and a tear in the air appeared. It revealed an industrial landscape of gears and cogs. From the rift stepped a faceless, humanoid clockwork golem, its mechanical limbs clanking as it emerged..

  The portal closed, and the golem–like stood before Tim, a shield as its left arm and a blade as its right. Its body was bronze, solid, with gears only visible on its sides and under its arms. It looked strong, though it clearly wasn’t built for delicate tasks.

  “Well how long will this thing last and what did it cost you?” Tim asked

  "It'll stay until it’s either defeated or dismissed. It cost me thirty mana, which is a lot, but it’ll help in a pinch." Simon replied.

  Before Tim could respond, a piercing screech filled the air, forcing them both to flinch. When Tim recovered, his eyes locked onto the source—a monstrous creature.

  Its head resembled a predatory bird, but it walked on four legs. Its eyes were blood-red, with white pupils, and its face was covered in red feathers. Above each eye, dark lines ran down toward a massive black beak. As it opened its mouth, Tim saw razor-sharp teeth. Its body was a blend of red feathers and dark brown fur, with the size and build of a bear—except it was twice the size of any bear Tim had seen. It moved toward them, its front feet ending in talons, its back feet like bear paws. Black feathers adorned the backs of its legs.

  Tim’s vision flashed with information.

  Bearded vulture bear

  Temperament: Hatred

  Ways to improve temperament: None at this time.

  ‘NONE AT THIS TIME!?’ Tim thought back to it.

  “Uh Tim? Your Gaia's warrior, go on play nice with it.” Simon said, sounding nervous.

  “That’s not an option," Tim replied, his eyes scanning for his scimitar. "We need to fight it. It hates us. Grab your crossbow, and I’ll grab my weapon."

  Without a word, Simon sent his clockwork defender forward. The Vulture Bear charged at it. Tim dove for his scimitar, rolling to his feet and immediately rushing behind the clockwork defender..

  Simon quickly grabbed his crossbow, taking aim at the creature.

  The Vulture Bear collided with the defender. The defender’s shield absorbed the first strike, but it was forced back, giving the beast a chance to turn its back to Tim. Seizing the opportunity, Tim slashed at the creature’s knee, but the blow barely nicked it. The Vulture Bear’s fur and hide were far thicker than he had anticipated. It growled but didn’t flinch. Tim lunged again, using his bear claws to tear at its knee. This time, the claws sank deep, drawing blood. He followed up with a quick slash from his scimitar, but the Vulture Bear shifted, and Tim’s blade only grazed the wound.

  The beast screeched, spinning faster than Tim expected. Its talons slashed under Tim’s left arm, tearing through skin and muscle. He was thrown back, landing hard on the ground. His senses dulled with the pain, and he couldn’t even scream, just feeling the shock of the hit.

  You have been savaged!!!

  You have taken seventy damage from the Bearded Vulture Bear’s talons.

  You are bleeding!!!

  The attack has caused a bleed effect. You will lose three hit points every second for ten seconds or until you are healed.

  Tim’s eyes went wide as the effects appeared. He had gone from one hundred and twenty health to fifty in one hit, “This would be a lot easier to multitask if I had bars or something,” he thought desperately.

  In the corner of his vision three bars appeared: Health (50/120), Mana (55/100), Stamina (75/100). A red droplet next to his health bar, marking the bleeding effect. Tim placed his hand on his wound and willed Minor Heal to activate. His mana dropped from 55 to 45, but his health rose to 60. The bleeding effect faded. He cast it again, restoring more health, leaving him with only 35 mana but now at 70 health.

  “TIM! Can you hear me? TIM!” Simon yelled, firing another bolt at the beast.

  Tim heard the Vulture bear screech again, and he heard a sound of metal hitting ground, he could only assume was the defender getting knocked to the ground. He got up, slowly turning around to see the defender on the ground but hearing more crashing.

  Taking in the sights, it would appear the defender was beaten up pretty badly. It now lays in two pieces, with its legs laying uselessly away from its upper half. It appeared to Tim that when the Vulture bear destroyed the summoned being, as a last ditch effort, the clockwork defender stabbed its sword arm through the creatures front left leg.

  Tim turned, seeing the defender on the ground, badly damaged. It was split in half, its limbs useless. The Vulture Bear was stepping on the golem’s torso while snapping at its remaining parts. Tim’s expression hardened, and he saw the creature was still bleeding from three crossbow bolts—one even lodged in its eye socket.

  You have activated your hidden racial trait: Boiling Blood.

  Thanks to your Orc ancestry, you gain a temporary boost to stamina and strength.

  Tim’s body started to heat up, the blood surging through his veins. A primal cry tore from his throat as he charged forward. “I’M GOING TO MAKE KFC OUT OF YOUR ASS!”

  The Vulture Bear turned to him, slashing with its talons, Simon finished his cast, The Vulture Bear's movements slowed, allowing Tim to slide under the attack, now behind it. He struck quickly, slashing at its side with both claw and scimitar.

  The beast screeched in pain, staggering back. Tim didn’t stop. He struck again, again, and again—six times in total—his confidence growing with each hit. But just as he thought he had the upper hand, the creature reared up on its hind legs, and Tim’s strength suddenly drained.

  He was exhausted, his stamina nearly depleted. The Vulture Bear's neck extended as it towered over him. In his final moments, Tim thought, ‘I came to this world to fight, but it’s all going to end here.’

  Just as the beast prepared to strike, blood poured from its wounds, and it choked on its own life force. It fell backward with a gargled screech, crashing to the ground.

  "TIM! Are you okay?" Simon yelled, rushing to his side.

  Tim struggled to catch his breath, his vision blurry. "Yeah... I'm... just tired." He sighed, feeling himself slip into unconsciousness.