One Twisted Wish

You told him the truth. First, you spoke of how you got here - about how you wished for magic to be real, and your sudden appearance into this strange world. While you unable go completely into detail, you said enough that the common folk would be able to picture it in a somewhat accurate way.

"Just like...", he mumbled, not completing the sentence as the old man stared at you with eyes wide open. However, is expression wasn't of disbelief. It was something more like realization and surprise. As unexpected as it may be, the old man seemed to believe your words - despite how absurd they may sound.

Then, you continued onward, telling him about the house, your encounter with the girl, the appearance of Hyzeeldar and the possibly irreversible effects it had done unto you.

"Hyzeeldar.", the old man spoke once more, as if he was taking mental notes. As you went on, you stared at the old man with suspicion - he doesn't seem like the old man you expected him to be.

You cleared your throat, then continued - finally speaking of your attempts to learn more about the world, which led to you gaining possession of that scribbled map. You also talked about the earthquake and its unexpected consequences, up to how you got to your current predicament - getting sent to prison.

"I see.", the old man spoke with a slightly disheartened tone. He handed back the map to you, which you took without much hesitation. "Do you know why they took you here?"

"No. Why did they arrest me?", you answered immediately.

"That house once belonged to a war hero, and his dear friend, Ponnier.", the old man said. "When the war came to a halt, it, along with several other relics, was preserved by the nobles to honor the efforts of the ones who went to fight the war. Staying there is the same as stealing from the town's treasury itself - not to mention that the Oledge nobles have quite a very firm stance on their possessions."

[] War?
[] Ponnier?
[] War hero?
[] Write-in.

"Ponnier?", you said. "The illiterate man who wrote that book about Beville?"

The old man chuckled softly at your words. "Is that the impression the book gave you?"

"His writing was all over the place - unfinished sentences, incorrect grammar, misspelled words. It was even written in the start that he was illiterate."

"No author would start their book by saying they are illiterate, kid.", the old man said with a smile.

"He didn't write the book?"

"No. He wrote that book."

"What? I don't understand."

"Sit down, kid.", he said. "This is going to be a long one."

And so you sat, as the old man began to tell a tale. The old man spoke like he knew what happened, as if he saw and experienced them himself. Perhaps he had some kind of magical vision that allowed him to witness the past events, or he met Ponnier, and the war hero, in person.

The old man told you that Ponnier came into this world just like you - appearing out of nowhere. That Ponnier, too came from a different world, which was the sole reason he was considered illiterate. He knew nothing about this world back then. Ponnier was apparently called upon by a mysterious voice in the middle of the day, and was sent into this world - where he was given a purpose, one which he exceedingly fulfilled.

The old man told you about Ponnier's many great feats, one which were forgotten by all, hidden under the shadow of the war hero he accompanied. Things like going behind enemy lines to secure a route for the war hero to pass through, causing enough disturbances in certain enemy camps that allowed the hero to plow through their defenses with ease. The old man seemed to emphasize that without Ponnier, the war hero wouldn't even be known - that the war hero was simply a young farmhand who grew under Ponnier's care.

Eventually the old man's tale came to the point where he explained that the book was indeed written by Ponnier, but the content was not about Beville at all. That Ponnier hid some very valuable information in that book, and disguised it as a guide to Beville.

"Where can I meet him?", you immediately asked. If Ponnier really had the same predicament as you, then surely he must have found a way back home?

"He's...gone.", the old man said, with a disheartened tone. "After the war ended, he settled down. Lived his life, got married, and died of old age."

You looked at the ground. The very slightest hope of you getting away from this strange world and returning back home disappeared just like that.

"So what am I supposed to do now?", you said.

The old man looked at you, and sighed. "Fate truly is a cruel mistress.", he muttered.

"If this Hyzeeldar really brought you here to entertain him, then we should get out of here first."

"We?", you said.

"I'm going to help you."

"But why?"

"I need to repay a debt to an old friend.", he says with a gentle smile.

------------------------------------

Three day time skip. Choose something that Aura would spend her free time.

[] The old man trains Aura in combat. This will raise her Strength and Dexterity by two stages. She also has a 50% chance to learn new combat skills - such as Basic Close Combat, Basic Ranged Combat, Basic Armed Combat, etc.
[] The old man enlightens Aura about the world. This will raise her Intelligence and Wisdom by two stages. There will also be a post which is essentially just a lore dump.
[] The old man teaches Aura magic. This gives her a 25% to learn new combat and magic skills, and will come with a lore dump post as well.

Notice how Aura has the lowest stat level possible in most of her stats? That's because she hasn't adjusted to the world yet. As the story progresses, Aura will be able to adapt and train, causing her to learn various skills and abilities, as well as raising the levels of her stats.

Now, how does that work? There will be instances like the post earlier, wherein Aura can go train and learn new things, practice and hone her skills, and the like. Each time she does this, specific stats will be raised by a number of stages, which will be based on the winning vote.

Each stat level requires Aura to complete 3 stages, before progressing to the next level.

For example, if she has an E-ranked Strength, she needs to raise it by 3 stages before it becomes D-ranked strength.

However, things aren't that straightforward. Beyond C-rank, raising her stat will have a chance to fail and hinder her progress, which will invalidate the stages she would rather have accomplished.

From C to B, has a 20% chance of failure.
B to A has 33% chance of failure.
A to S has 50% chance of failure.
S to SS has 75% chance of failure.
SS to SSS has 80% chance of failure.
SSS to EX isn't included, and requires different criteria - but we'll talk about that when we get to that point. Hopefully.

-----------------

The same goes for skill levels, from Basic to Adept. Beyond adept always has a 50% chance of failure.

The levels for skills/abilities are the following:

Basic
Novice
Intermediate
Amateur
Adept
Expert
Master

Now, there are certain skills and abilities that have no rank at all, and instead would improve and gain more use as they are honed and improved. An example of this would be Aura's innate abilities - "Dragonkin's Birthright", and "Mark of Hyzeeldar".

For two days, the old man trained you in physical combat. He thought you how to defend yourself in case you get yourself in a dangerous situation - basic self-defense. You learned that while brawling is fairly common in bars and taverns, those aren't the best place to learn how to fight. He taught you how to punch and kick properly, swiftly and with controlled force. He taught you how to move - how to dodge and parry, as well as close the gap between you and your opponent. You learned the fundamentals of close combat, but you were quite sure it wasn't enough to make you truly combat-ready.

During breaks, where you would rest and replenish yourself, the old man schemed in silence - taking note of the patrolling routines of the guards, checking on the other prisoners during meal times, and even discreetly inspecting the layout of the prison itself.

You were rehearsing what he had taught you in the past two days, but the old man was silently watching - gazing outside of your cell. If you remember it correctly, he predicted that someone will attempt to break free today - he just didn't know when exactly. Hours went on without much noise, until afternoon came. That was when the guards were going to take everyone to their meals, but it was always delayed by an hour or so - and in that short period, there would be no patrols, no one watching over the cells and those within them. This was it, if anyone was going to break free, this one hour grace period is their best chance.

But minutes had already passed and still nothing.

"Hm.", the old man clenched his fist. He knelt onto the ground, and chanted. "My burning resolve shall be no less. My body is forged in that which is unbreakable.", he raised his fist, and it glowed dimly for a second. "Harden!"

The old man punched the floor, causing enough damage to make a small hole where the materials crumbled and fell. He scoured the tiny wreckage and grabbed a rock, roughly fitting his grasp. He, then stood back up.

"What are you doing?", you said.

The old man gazed beyond your cell - directly into the one parallel to yours. "Improvising."

He knocked onto the steel bars of your cell, creating a loud and ringing noise. "Wake up!", he shouted. "Rise and shine you filthy reptile!"

You saw bright yellow eyes stare onto your cell, followed by a soft, but clearly threatening growl. "Shut your mouth, senile one.", a deep and imposing voice said, coming from the other cell. "Or I will have to shut it for you. Permanently."

The old man put on a smug look. "Sure you will.", he answered with a sarcastic tone. "A lizard like you won't have trouble slipping through those bars, anyway."

"What are you doing?!", you said. "You're gonna get in trouble if a fight breaks out!"

"You see, this lizard's kin are a bunch of filthy animals.", the old man said. "They are..."

"Stop now.", the voice spoke. "I have enough tolerance for your insults on me, but should you dare corrupt the little one's mind about my kind...You shall see no tomorrow."

"...pests given sentience. There's a reason why-"

All of a sudden, the bars on the other cell burst out, and were torn apart to shreds. What emerged from the shadows of that small containment was a very large lizard, standing on two legs. Just by looking at it, you could easily assume that that thing was at least 8 foot tall - clearly unfit for his cell that was probably 6 and a half feet at most. It had scaly skin, as expected, but in a somewhat golden shade, it had a tail, and definitely sharp teeth as well as claws. It approached your cell, and grabbed the bars of your cell. With a small grunt, it lifted the entirety of the bar, along with a few concrete blocks that were stuck on it, and threw it aside.

The large lizard-man stood before you menacingly, blocking the path to exit your cell. It eyes glared towards the old man.

"Any last words, puny human?", it said.

The old man was mumbling something.

"Struck by fear, I see.", the lizard spoke, and hunched over - looking down on the old man.

In the blink of an eye, the old man directed his gaze towards the lizard's eyes. "Flash!", he shouted. A brilliant light suddenly burst from the old man's eyes, blinding the lizard. You covered yours with your hands instinctively, and had your sight blurred instead.

But even so, you could still see what happened. Or at least make sense of it.

The moment the lizard was caught off guard, the old man quickly hopped onto its back and slammed the rock onto the back of its head. The lizard was unable to react, and fell to the ground with a loud thud. The old man, then, dragged you with him, as your sight slowly recovered.

"You killed it!", you said.

"No.", the old man replied, as the two of you ran through the corridors, heading towards a certain blind spot between the doors of the prison's holding area and where the prison cells were. "I simply knocked him unconscious. His skin is tough enough to withstand getting stabbed by a fork, I've tested it already."

"Wait, you tested it?", you were surprised at his words. "You stabbed it, err, him with a fork?!"

"Yes.", he said indifferently, as he stopped in his tracks, and so did you. "Follow me and keep quiet."

The two of you hid in a small spot which had very little illumination due to the way the lanterns were placed. And when those doors to the holding area open, you'll be hidden under the shadow cast by the doors. What'd be left by then would be heading strait to the only exit - the front door.

The ruckus that was caused by the old man caused an uproar in the many prisoners, who made various noises, some shouting for the guards, some trying to break the bars of their cells. Of course, the guards, hearing this, immediately rushed to the scene. And as the old man predicted, the door cast a shadow over you two to be unnoticed, while the guards run to where the chaos was going on - the cells. Once they were far away, you left your cover and hurried over to the holding area.

The door to freedom was just about four meters away. But all of a sudden, there was explosion from the prison cell area. The sound was loud enough to cause the warden to leave his office and check it out. What emerged beyond the doors of the warden's office was a man half the size of your old man. He had a large, ginger beard that almost covered his entire torso.

The old man immediately tackled the warden, and wrestled with him. For his size, the warden was putting up quite a fight. The old man seemed to have some difficulties dealing with the warden, but managed to put a hold on him. Still, the warden struggled to break free.

"What are you standing there for?!", the old man shouted towards you. "Go! Get out!"

[] Leave the old man.
[] Help him out.