Origin ARS 5

Origin ARS 5

By Scottie Futch

Copyright 2015 Scottie Futch

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter 1

A sweet scent arose from a magnificent field of
wildflowers. The bright blue sky, brilliant in its clarity. Subtle
music that played gently in the background of the mind. These were
all beautiful reminders of a thing that the man known as Scott
Jacobs had grown to hold dear in his heart.

“Welcome to the world of ARS, dear traveler.”
said a voice that had the ring of familiarity, though it had been
months since last he had heard it.

Scott looked up. A warm and welcoming smile
appeared when he took sight of the presence that had greeted him.
“Hello Mid. It’s been a while.”

A beautiful woman of flawless complexion,
alabaster skin, and jet black hair greeted him. She wore an
over-sized floppy hat and the low-cut robe that one might think a
traditional wielder of arcane magic might wear. Her name was Mid,
sister to Origin, and the Great Sage who acted as guardian of the
Field of New Beginnings.

“Dear Childe, it has been entirely too long.
How are you and my little sister doing?” she asked in an overly
sultry tone of voice. The slight upturn of her lips bespoke a
hidden playfulness despite her austere beauty.

Her appearance was a far cry from the one
that she had shown him during their first visit. His first day on
ARS had been spent in the company of an ancient old woman who was a
bit of a troll. Scott had not met her again until later at Victory
Station where she was revealed to be the owner of a lore crystal
enterprise. At that time she had been revealed to be the overly
attractive woman who currently stood before him.

Scott smiled brightly. “We’re doing well. How
about you?”

Mid made a rotating gesture with the head of
her staff. “The world keeps on spinning.” She sighed softly then
flashed him a dangerously intriguing look. “Unlike my dear little
sister, I don’t have a boyfriend to do well with.”

“I’m sure that’s by choice.” said Scott. He
chose not to rise to take her far too attractive bait.

Amusement danced in her eyes. “You’ve changed
a little, I see. My sister is a lucky girl.”

“We both are.” agreed Scott.

"You're both lucky girls?" she asked with a
playful smile.

Scott offered her a wry smile of his own, and
then a nod of the head. "Sounds about right."

“Wonderful news. Will you make her an honest
woman, soon?” said Mid in a tone of voice that was heavily laced
with mirth and curiosity.

Scott laughed a little then nodded. “We’ve
set a date, but we’re keeping it to ourselves for a while.”

Mid presented a sensual pout. “Such cruelty,
must you tease me so?”

“Yes.” said Scott, his tone of voice light
and amused. “Doesn’t having a little mystery in your life make you
happy?”

She tilted her hat down then quirked her lips
to the side. “Now I’m jealous. My little sister has a man who
understands me.”

Scott nodded then made a mildly dramatic hand
gesture. “Finders keepers.”

Mid laughed in such a clear and bright manner
that it sounded reminiscent of music. “Goodness, you’ve become
dangerous. Do let me know if my dear sister ever takes up the
family tradition.”

“Of course, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on
that one.” replied Scott in an even-handed manner. The family
tradition mentioned was polygamy. It took many forms. Origin's
mother Era pretty much wanted to have sex with anyone who held
still long enough. Shara on the other hand wanted to be with a
Scott, any old Scott would do, even a fat one. But she also desired
to share her chosen man with lots of nice girl friends. In short,
she liked harem comedies. Mid played the field a bit, but as she
spent a lot of time at the Field of New Beginnings she was often
playing solo.

Origin, known as Rhea or Aria on various
worlds, was a goddess of love and reincarnation. However, she was
monogamous by nature. It marked her as the black sheep of the
family, even if she was also the heir apparent to the gaming
empire. It was even named after her when her selection as the
future empress was announced.

Mid pouted again. She was quite skilled at
pouting. Most men would not have stood a chance against such an
expression and the desires of the one who presented it. Scott was
not most men. He had already earned and known the love of two
extraordinary women.

"Mid used
cute pout
. It was not very
effective." said Scott with a laugh. Mid’s pout attack was not very
effective versus the power of three-way love born between a man, a
goddess, and a fairy best friend. She should have done her homework
and studied the resistance charts properly.

"My goodness. Such cruelty." Her smile
widened three sizes as she said it.

Scott reached over and placed a hand on her
shoulder. “It’s OK. You’re a beautiful person. You’ll meet the
right guy and poutify him into loving you forever.”

She blinked then drew back a little. Beneath
the brim of her hat, he could see a slight blush creep up onto her
cheeks. Mid was not one to blush frequently. Honestly, she was a
bit of a pervert. Scott’s sincere tone and mild compliments were
something she was unaccustomed to from a man. It would have been
easier to deal with had he said something sexual.

The sage blinked once then took a breath. Her
smile returned and she placed her hand atop his. “I guess I’ll be
calling you big bro soon, huh?”

“I’m pretty sure I’d be the little brother.”
said Scott with a laugh. She was a few thousand years too old to be
his little sister.

“But… You’re so big.” she said lightly before
eyeing him up and down.

Scott shook his head. “Well, there is
that.”

Mid grinned. This was fun. “Shall I become
your little sister then?”

“What, don’t want me to call you big sister?”
asked Scott.

The light began to dance in her eyes once
more. “Dear childe… I would adore that.”

“You’re crafty, Mid.” remarked Scott. He was
pretty sure that entire exchange had been designed to convince him
to call her big sister.

“Well, I am good with my hands.” she agreed
with a slight purr in her voice.

Scott unleashed a mirthful chuckle. “I don’t
doubt that, big sister.”

She blinked twice then bit her lower lip. A
joyful smile was unleashed and she moved forward to give Scott a
warm hug.

He was a little uncomfortable at first, but
she did not try to molest him or anything. He relaxed and waited
till she was done.

“Are you certain there aren’t any more like
you at home?” asked Mid in a warm tone of voice. She held him a
little longer than necessary, but he did not mind. She smelled like
wildflowers and was not being particularly handsy.

“You could always get together with Shara and
flip through a catalog or something. You know, pick out a Scott of
your own.” he said flippantly.

She chuckled sweetly then released him. “Oh
my.” She placed a finger to the bottom her lip. After she thought
about it for a moment she cocked her hip to the side and offered
him an amused smirk. “Perhaps I’ll find a sporty model that has a
lot of torque and handles dangerous curves with ease.”

“He’ll be a lucky man, Mid. I wish you both
the greatest of success.” he said.

Mid glanced at him. She then looked away for
a moment before she reached out and poked his shoulder in a
strangely innocent manner. She puffed out her left cheek then made
a weak hissing sound reminiscent of a small explosion.
“P-ssht!”

Scott realized the truth about Mid with that
one action. She was a sultry temptress. But she was also fairly shy
when it came to interacting with a man outside of her immediate
family who did not try to hump her leg like a dog in heat.

Mid pulled the brim of her hat down a little
further than necessary then turned around and completely faced away
from him. “Anyway, we should get you started on your grand journey,
shouldn’t we?”

“If you’re done teasing me about my love for
your sister, then sure.” He had enjoyed his chat with Mid. She was
a fun girl and did not try to shove her breasts in his face. That
was a strange thing to consider as a positive action, but it was
something that he had found delightful about her.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips and she said,
“Dear childe, I’ll never tire of that.”

Scott smiled at her back. She was a nice
girl. Though, there was one thing he had to do before they
continued. “Can you do me a favor first, Mid?”

“Hmm? Whatever could you want from little old
me?” she asked curiously. She tilted her head back slightly and
parted her lips in a mildly provocative manner and awaited his
response.

“Can you say bless your heart, just once?” he
asked. Her accent was odd. It seemed to shift from an American
Southern accent to something that attempted the version of British
English that people on TV spoke. He had never actually heard anyone
from the UK who actually had sounded like that, and he had met more
than a few people from that part of the world. The change over for
her seemed to happen whenever she moved from casual conversation to
business mode.

The effect was something like a classic
Southern Belle attempting to speak with a faux-British accent.
Surprisingly it did not grate on his nerves in the slightest.

Mid laughed loudly then shook her head.
“Goodness. What am I, a heroine from a classic Southern movie?”

“Gone with the Mid?” asked Scott.

She laughed again then pulled her hat down
lower. “Bless your heart, Scott Jacobs.”

He smiled at her. That was awesome. He always
liked how a classic Southern Belle could sweetly say bless your
heart like it was an insult or an obscenity. Though, he supposed
the current term would be a Georgia Peach, even if he was sure that
she wasn’t from Georgia.

After they finished poking fun at her accent,
they made their way to a strange object. In the center of the Field
of New Beginnings there was a large mirror resting atop a pedestal.
Mid explained. “This is a salvation mirror. You can view your stats
here.”

“I can’t just look at them normally?” asked
Scott. He could not remember whether Rhea had mentioned this tidbit
of information or not.

“You could in the past, but recently there
have been a few updates for the sake of further realism. Some stats
that were visible before are invisible now. Other stats that were
invisible are now visible. A few other things have changed or have
been updated as well.”

“Like what?”

“Well, now, the biggest change is that all
experience is acquired under-the-hood, so to speak. So you won’t
know how much experience will be needed to level a skill or what
have you. You also won’t know how much you will earn.”

“So, flying blind, basically?” asked
Scott.

“Yes, and no. You can still see your basic
stats in mirrors like these. We intend to upgrade the system
further so that eventually any reflective surface can be used.”

“That would be useful. Where do I find
mirrors like this when I’m out in the world?” asked Scott.

Mid said, “They are found in every town or
city with a church or shrine. Your status is not saved until you
gaze into one, so no matter how many levels worth of experience you
gain it won’t be permanently saved until you gaze into a salvation
mirror again.”

“Wait, so leveling only sticks when I look
into a mirror? What if I die before then?” asked Scott.

“Your experience since your last salvation
period will be lost, even if you are resurrected. That’s the main
penalty now.” said Mid.

Scott nodded. It was like an old school save
system. He had to go to visit one of these mirrors regularly to
make sure his progress counted. “Do I lose any saved levels if I
die?”

“Only if you stay dead for more than three
sun rises after you are killed. You lose all of them in that case
and will have to visit me here in the field once more.” she said in
a cheerful manner.

“So the three day thing is based on the
number of times the sun rises in this world right?”

“Yes, it’s the best way to enforce dramatic
tension as the dead won’t be able to log back in for four ARS days
after their death, or until their avatar is resurrected. Even you
will leave a duplicate corpse behind here when you’re booted back
to Earth.”