'Ok let's see what Aurea left me.'
As Rune opened the door to his inn room, the words of both the blacksmith and the innkeeper rang through his head.
"She gives you what you need the most."
A whole list of things rolled through his mind. Armor, weapons, information, or even a pile of money to buy all of those things.
"A rock, there is a rock on my bed."
On Rune's bed, there was a large chunk of marble. The innkeeper had placed it on his pillow, as if it were left there as turndown service.
Rune walked over and placed his hand against the rough stone. The instant he touched it, words flooded his mind.
"Rune, I hope my voice is coming in clear," Aurea's words formed for only him to hear.
"I have used a lot of my remaining power to create this and get it to you. It will tie you to the system of this world, not the one the Unnamed One gives to the people he summons."
Blue light shimmered up and down Rune's body, as if magic was scanning him.
"Do not worry, though. Both systems are still born of this world, so you will be able to interact with those who use his system, and they will never know the difference."
The marble chunk in Rune's hand began to grow warm.
"The difference with the one you will have is that it was designed to show growth."
"The Unnamed One offers growth freely to make people dependent on it, dependent on him. They are not growing on their own, but because of the system he gives."
"So please, keep growing, soon you will start to remember."
[System Initialization]
Registering soul with the world tree…
Error… soul already registered…
Error… race does not match
Error… name does not match
Error… age does not match
Error … @#$%! Can not return!
Rune's head seared with pain yet again, the name he was unable to hear blocked by something unknown, something ancient.
[Override from a governing deity started]
Duplicate entry allowed.
Name: Rune
Age: 22
Race: Human+
Element: Light
Element: Shadow
Element power: 6
Physical power: 21
Stored Money Value: None
[Perks]
Memories of the World
[Qualifications]
None
As the pain in his head died down, Rune caught his breath. His pulse steadied.
'This is me… I already knew that I was supposedly a part of this world before, but this confirms it.'
He paused for a moment.
'Unless it is all one elaborate lie.'
An annoyed expression appeared on his face as he made a connection. 'I could question human+, but that would just lead to more problems to solve. What bothers me is the element power.'
'Surely it is just a coincidence that it is a 6. A system wouldn't use the age of an equivalent goblin as the basis for a power scale…'
Rune shook his head and slapped his cheeks with his open hands.
'No, just a coincidence, an annoying coincidence. This "memories of the world," I wonder what that is.'
As he thought those words, more formed in his mind.
[Memories of the World]
The ability to sometimes see the memories an object holds.
'I guess that could be useful. Aurea told me I had to remember, maybe this can help.'
'Either way, I need to get a good night's rest for the dungeon run tomorrow, and now I can even sell my materials with other system users.'
Rune let out a single loud laugh that echoed out his window into the night.
'She really did give me exactly what I needed.'
*****
The walk to the dungeon did not feel as long today. Things were going great. Rune had a system now, so he didn't need to hide as much.
He had also awakened his element. Things were perfect… except for the big pile of mud he had just stepped in.
'Ugh… Wait, where am I? Crap, I was lost in thought and wandered off the path.'
He looked around, trying to find the path and remember exactly where he'd left it, when something shiny caught his eye in the mud pools ahead of him.
'Do I really wade into mud in the hope of finding treasure…?' Rune paused for a moment before arriving at the only conclusion one could in a fantasy world. 'Of course I do.'
Rune trudged through the mud over to where he had seen the glint of light. As he started to clean off what he thought was just a mound of earth, he saw it.
Massive, imposing, fangs…
A skull of some sort of beast, long dead, cracked in half, reclaimed by the dirt.
'What kind of monster is this? The skull alone is as big, if not bigger than I am.'
In each of the sockets where eyes should have been, Rune saw the source of the shimmer he'd noticed before.
Two axes were embedded there, one in each socket, catching the light of the sun.
They were larger than any normal axe. Their blades curved in an unusual shape, almost like crescent moons.
They had runes and carvings etched along both the handles and the blades themselves. Intricate and beautiful.
Rune turned his head to look around him, making sure he was alone.
'This world has salvage rights, yea? Surely no one will mind me taking these.'
He wrapped his hands around both axe handles. As he was about to try to free them from the skull, more words appeared in his mind.
[Memories of the World Activating…]
"To the gods that watch over us all, hear this."
There stood a man of a race Rune hadn't seen before. At a minimum, he was 16 feet tall, his body covered in marks that moved like swirling ink beneath the skin.
Rune could feel the heat of the room, as if he were there himself. Furnaces, anvils, hammers, and work benches all around. This was a forge.
The giant was standing over a workbench where two perfectly crafted axes lay crossed in front of him.
"I have put pieces of myself in these axes as I forged them. My son walks a hard path with a stubborn mind. Grant these weapons your blessings to cool his temper and guide him towards a road filled with honor and glory."
The giant raises his head to the sky in reverence.
"For I Thranar, father of Thranir, speak and ask for the blessing of the gods on my name."
The memory fades, and another comes into view…