Zane opened his eyes, blinking and twisting his head to avoid the light that was shining in front of him. He squinted, allowing his pupils to adjust to the light. It seemed to be inconsistent, being brighter if he turned his head one way and dimmer if he turned the other way. After a few moments of keeping his head in the dimmer area, he was able to fully open his eyes. Above him was a canopy of branches, the sunlight being let in through small breaks between the limbs. The light shifted as the wind blew across the tree tops, the sound of the air rushing through the branches and the rustle of the leaves as they rubbed against one another filling his ears with a calming sound. He took a deep breath and the smell of trees and grass filled his nostrils. The air was clean, no odor of smoke or exhaust in the air. He didn't move for a while, allowing his senses to enjoy the natural world around him.
He finally sat up and looked down at himself. He sighed. "I'm naked," he muttered. He looked to his left and saw a leather backpack, close with belt latches. Next to the pack was a tunic, a pair of pants, and some boots with socks. Next to those was a hard leather chest piece, a short sword, and a small round shield. Zane grabbed the tunic and pulled it over his head before standing up. He pulled on the pants and put on the socks and boots.
He stretched and moved, wiggling his toes and twisting his feet. Everything fit well, which surprised him. "Maybe it shouldn't surprise me," Zane said to himself. "It was a God who gave me these things." He picked up the chest piece, inspecting it. The bottom was loose and connected with tightening straps. The top was solid and it was meant to go over the head. He slid it on and, with some difficulty, tightened the straps. It didn't hamper his movements too much, but he wouldn't call it comfortable. Considering that he would be fighting in a dungeon soon, some protection was a good thing. The short sword was in a soft leather sheath. A leather strap that was meant to be slung over the shoulder was attached to the top of the sheath and two long pieces of leather string hung from the bottom. He put it on, but was annoyed by how the blade flopped around. "How could I secure it better?" Zane studied it for a moment, rolling the two pieces of string in his hand. Then he started laughing at himself. With a shake of his head, he tied the pieces of string around his leg, securing the sheath. This made pulling the sword out a little awkward, but he preferred it to the sword bouncing against his leg every time he walked. The small shield was made of metal and had a handle on the back. It didn't seem like it would protect him much, but it would be good at deflecting.
He knelt down and opened the bag. Inside was some dried food, a small knife, some extra socks, a ten-foot coil of rope, some flint and steel, a small hatchet, some bandages, and a coin purse with five penny looking coins. On the outside was a water pouch and a large roll tied to the bottom. The roll was a cloth canvas and a bed pad.
Zane slipped his arms through the backpack straps and looked around. "I wonder where this dungeon is. He wouldn't have put me far from it." The trees were all around him except in one direction. It actually looked more like a path then natural growth. Considering that was the easiest way to go, he walked that way. He didn't hurry, as he wasn't sure if he wanted to dive straight into the dungeon. Gzi'om told him not to go in right away, but to take time to process his death. Exploring was out of the question because of what of the traits that Érimón had sealed. "Well, the first thing I should do is find where this dungeon is. After that, I don't want to just sit around. Maybe I should try out this new body. I had some crazy stats and some skills that I would like try out. Yeah, I think that would be best. If I'm going to be fighting monsters, I should have at least a little understanding of what I'm capable of."
After walking for about five minutes, the trees began to thin. He could see a large cliff face ahead of him and he soon walked out of the trees. The cliff stretched to either side of him further than he could see and went above him hundreds of feet. "That would be a blast to climb," Zane said as he looked up. He had gone climbing with his friends a few times. While it wasn't as good as Parkour, it was still awesome. "Maybe someday."
He looked down and saw a cave in front of him. Two large stone pillars sat on either side of the cave entrance. He walked up to the pillars, the stone unworked, but there was a strange energy emanating from them. When he touched them, he could swear they were vibrating. He stepped back from them, flexing the hand that he had put on the stone. It was tingling. "I guess this is the dungeon," Zane told himself. He moved away from the pillars and put his pack down, taking a drink from the water pouch. Studying the cave, he decided that he would enter it tomorrow morning. He would use the rest of the day to test this new body and to 'process'. He still wasn't sure what Gzi'om wanted him to accomplish, but he would try.
Putting the water pouch down, he did some stretches and hopped up and down on his toes. As he did this, he noticed that his small hops were higher than he expected. He looked down while hopping, expecting to only hop up a few inches, but his hops were lifting him off the ground by more the half a foot. He stopped and took a deep breath, then he crouched and jumped up. He was smiling as he came back down. He had caught over three feet of air. He had not been a push over on earth but this was more height than he had ever had before. He was getting excited about the possibilities here.
He opened his status and looked at the Parkour skill:
Parkour (Intermediate)
You are able to find the best paths as you quickly move through an area or in battle. If there are no surfaces available to Parkour from, you are able to create small platforms under your hands and feet. Mana cost: 5 per platform.
What did it mean by small platforms? Zane looked at his hand. It says that it cost five mana per platform. Mana is magic. How do I use it? He looked up at the stone pillars, remembering the tingling that came after he place his hand on it. Could that have been mana?
Zane closed his eyes and pushed out his hand, trying to project the energy out of it. Nothing happened, but he kept doing it. After a few tries, he could feel energy moving through his hand. For half an hour, he kept pushing the mana through his hand. He stopped, wondering if he was actually doing anything. He checked his stats:
Mana: 415/425
"YES!" Zane celebrated. He had actually been pushing mana out of his hands. Not much, but he was able to use it. How would this work with the Parkour skill? It said it created a platform. Zane concentrated on the Parkour and how being able to create a platform to run or jump off of would increase his range. He threw out his hand suddenly and it hit something.
Zane's eyes flew open and he could see a thin layer of hardened mana underneath his hand. He pulled his hand back and the mana dissipated. He looked at the tops of the pillars and smiled. He sprinted toward the far pillar, thinking of stairs. He lifted his right foot and, as he pushed down, a platform of mana appeared under his foot, lifting him up. He then created one under his left foot. His adrenaline surged and he fell face first into the ground. He round over, laughing at himself.
He had lost his concentration and so the last platform hadn't formed. He got up and return to his start point. A short time later and after a few more falls, he stood on top of the pillar, arms raised in triumph. This ability was amazing! He put his arms down and ran off the pillar toward the cliff face. The platforms appeared under his feet and he jumped onto the wall and pushed himself off of it at an upward angle. He twisted and created platforms under his hands and feet, propelling himself back toward the cliff wall. He did this several times before pushing himself away from the cliff. He was dozens of feet off of the ground. He brought his feet under him and ran like his was going downstairs, the mana layers appearing under his feet until he was safely on the ground.
"THIS IS THE BEST!"