Waking with a start, the first thing Leobell noticed was the cold. Shivering as he stood, he noticed that it was dark outside, meaning he'd been on the cold linoleum for at least a few hours. Looking around, Leobell found dried blood on the floor where he had been lying. Touching a hand to his head, it came away covered in red flecks. Remembering what happened before he passed out, Leobell gasped as he recalled the voice he heard in those last moments.
Greetings, Fool, you have finally regained consciousness.
Hearing the voice inside his head, Leobell spun around, asking, "What?! Who's there!?"
Be calm, Fool, I am your gift, or your cicatrix, as your people call it
"Wait, what? I've never heard of a cicatrix that talks to you. And why do you keep calling me a fool?"
I am not a normal gift, for I come from higher beings. As for why, it's your designation from the ascended. You are to be a Jester for the gods.
"So what do you do? I'm supposed to know how to activate my cicatrix instinctively.".
You simply call upon your godly gifts by opening your system
"Okay, System open."
[The Ascendant System]
{Designation: The Fool, Leobell Heathcliff}
{Status}
{Skills}
{Quests}
{Patrons}
To navigate to different tabs, simply think of the tab you wish to open
"Um, okay, Status."
{Leobell Heathcliff}
Cicatrix: The Ascendant
Level 0 - 0/10
Strength: N/A
Agility: N/A
Stamina: N/A
"Why are my stats all blank? I've always been average in my gym class."
Your stats are calibrated according to the ascended beings. Your propensity in these categories is too low to be properly associated with the ascended beings.
"Wait, if my stats aren't even applicable, how strong are these 'higher beings'?"
They would be considered Gods by your primitive society's standards. The Higher Beings are truly the peak of capability.
"Well, can you calibrate my status in a way that I can see it?"
Assessing… Confirmation. Calibrating the Fool's status according to the capabilities of his race
{Status}
Leobell Heathcliff
Strength: 2
Agility:6
Stamina:4
"Um, System, those still seem kind of low."
The current stat arrangement of the Fool is designed around the capabilities of a class D race with affinities for cicatri. The Fool is ranked lowly because his power is low. Train hard and grow strong, Jester, for even a fool must be able to protect his humor.
"Fine. What are my skills?"
{Skills}
N/A
The Fool has no skills of his own; he must conform to the wishes of the Higher Beings to gain skills. Opening the quest tab.
{Quests}
Baby Steps
Daily
"Open quest baby steps"
Baby Steps
Your first steps on the path to ascension should be bold
Win your first fight and drag yourself out of the shadows and into the spotlight!
Reward: Your first patron!
"Wait, you want me to do what? How am I meant to win a fight? I've never even thrown a punch before."
[CONGRATULATIONS]
Finally realizing what it takes to break from mediocrity, the Fool now understands the consequences of his choice.
Realize that your life will never be normal again! 1/1
Reward: Welcome pack!
Would you like to open the welcome pack?
"Yes! Yes, please open it!"
Opening the welcome pack
Congratulations! Two Gods have decided to bless your welcome!
Ganelor, the God of Protection, has given you his blessing.
Guard: A manifestation of Ganelor's love for the shield, protects the Fool from any harm when activated. However, Ganelor abhors violence and, as such, will not allow you to commit harm while you avail yourself of his protection.
Arthan, the God of knowledge, has given you his blessing.
Study: Arthan has allowed you access to his information stores and will let you search his books for knowledge of the subject of your gaze. Though limited in your entrance, you may grow your access by growing your stockpiles of intelligence.
Good luck on your journey, Fool. All of the ascended will be watching!
"Woah, did I just awaken a double cicatrix? That happens to less than one percent of all awakeners!"
Navigating to the skills tab, Leobell looked over his new skills, noticing a far more detailed explanation of the abilities.
Guard lv.1
Conjures a mirror-glass shield that protects from low D-class attacks. While active, the Fool can not inflict any harm, purposeful or otherwise. Activates for three seconds with a five-second cooldown between uses.
Study lv.1
Opens the Book of All to give basic information on any subject. Information not subject to the Fool's knowledge but based upon that of Arthan.
"Well, I can get behind knowing everything, but how am I supposed to fight if my shield makes it so I can't hurt anybody?" As Leobell mused on the situation, he decided on the solution to use the shield as a last-ditch effort to save himself rather than as an active combat skill.
As a loud ringing startled Leobell from his thoughts, he recognized it as the fifteen-minute warning to leave the school grounds before they were locked down. Jogging out of the bathroom and towards the gate, Leobell felt the changes in his physique, while still short and quite slim, he would no longer be described as a twig that would snap in the lightest breeze. Finding that the changes were not purely aesthetic, Leobell pushed himself further into a run and was surprised at the speed he could reach. Arriving at the front gate after only five minutes, he was surprised as Leobell never could have even reached that speed before, let alone keep it up long enough to run the full kilometer between the main school building and the gate.
Pushing on, through the gate and continuing to his home, Leobell found that he was able to run at full pace for another ten minutes before needing to catch his breath and walk the extra fifty feet to his doorway. Opening the door, Leobell shouted out his presence even though he knew there would be no answer. Removing his shoes and jacket, he walked towards the kitchen, opening his system panel as he threw a frozen meal into the microwave. Leobell remembered the second quest he had, opening it quickly.
{Daily}
Amuse the gods! Everyone has different tastes that you must find for yourself! A good jester knows his audience!
Entertain at least one Higher Being!
Finding that the quest gave no actual indication towards what he should do, Leobell began to think over everything that he knew of his two patrons, which was surprisingly little. Galenor hated violence, but Leobell had no way of translating that into his actions. Arthan, on the other hand was stated to love knowledge so maybe learning something new would be entertaining to him.
Deciding on a course of action, Leobell grabbed one of his textbooks and began to read through it while his food cooked. Opening to the first page, he was assailed by the tiny text of how humans had first started awakening Cicatri.
It had first started six hundred years before, when humanity was first assaulted by the alien forces known as Kosm. Fighting against the invading force, humanity's highest leaders put aside all petty squabbles to face the common foe before them. Holding ground and even managing to push back the invaders, humanity thought they had a chance until a single alien was able to massacre an entire army, leaving only one survivor to transmit a message, "E-Class species are incomparable to even the lowest D-class species. This fight would be over the moment we decided it. If you wish to survive, then say as much, and we will withdraw all forces. Be warned, however, that this will mean your promotion into a D-class species." Fearing that this was a trap, humanity gathered all their forces into one nation before accepting the offer. This was their fatal mistake, as once the enemy had pulled back, it was revealed that they had dispersed a bioweapon across the entire planet. As humanity died under a disease that wiped out eighty percent of the population, the few survivors found themselves to be stronger than ever before, some even awakening special powers which were named Cicatri after the distinctive scarring left in the DNA of the survivors. No longer of the same species as before the war, the survivors named themselves the Aftan. Fearful of the classification of D-class, the Aftan began researching the technology left behind by the Kosm, boosting the state of technology by leaps and bounds, with the strength of survivors growing steadily behind it. Ever afraid that the Kosm would come back, the world adapted a state of military order, with every student being required to serve some sort of field under the military upon leaving high school at the age of sixteen until at least the age of twenty.
Upon finishing the text, Leobell heard a ding from the system acknowledging his actions.
Arthan has found your research to be of suitable quality and has found amusement in your determination, your daily quest has been completed distributing rewards.
LEVEL UP
Congratulations, you have leveled up to lv 1! You have been allocated one free stat point, and your capacity for patrons has increased by one! Impress another God with your feats and grow stronger!
After deliberating for a moment, Leobell decided that he should put the start point into strength to be more well-rounded in his stats. As soon as he confirmed his decision, a blinding pain blasted through his body, knocking him unconscious. Unbeknownst to Leobell, the higher beings watching him were laughing as he fell to the floor and a multitude of new panesl on his system opened, saying,
First status point allocated, the ascendance process begins. Ascendance failed. Beginning godhood. Failed. Promoting to a higher classification. Failed. Beginning evolution. Succeeded. The Fool is no longer of the Aftan class, no suitable class available, creating new class: Jester. Information will be available upon unlocking the class system.
Now sleeping peacefully, Leobell dreamt of a pantheon underneath a tranquil blue sky.