Chapter 2: Blessing

  Tom sat there in silence after calling out to the goddess. He had never prayed in his life and there he was, praying to a god of another world.

  'I feel really stupid.'

  "Uhh..."

  Tom stared at the screen before him, dumfounded. He was expecting a booming voice. A voice so loud it would cause the world around him to shake.

  "Uh, hello?" he meekly replied. "You're Kara?"

  "Are you the SYSTEM or are you speaking through the SYSTEM?"

  "And what IS the SYSTEM?"

  Thomas was still in shock knowing he was speaking to an actual god. He couldn't really get his thoughts together. Nor could he summon the anger he felt for the situation he was placed in or for the people who died.

  The assurance that he could relax allowed Tom to break out of his stupor and feel his anger return to him.

  "Yeah. No kidding. Where do I even begin?" He quickly followed up in anger, "Ninety-nine people." Tom was seething at this point. His fist clenched. "Ninety-nine people died thanks to that test of yours. I'm assuming it's yours. Why? Why did they have to die?"

  "What?"

  "What?" Tom yelled as he jumped to his feet. "H-How is that even possible?"

  "Oh god... Why is he fusing our universes?" He sat back down in his chair.

  "You don't...? You're a god! Aren't you all knowing or even powerful? Hell, why even allow Hastur do everything he has done for the last several hundred years?"

  "Then who or what is?"

  'Piggybacked?' he thought. 'What a weird word for a goddess to use.'

  Even though Thomas couldn't hear the goddess' voice, those words came across as teasing.

  "Uh, sorry. What about the god of my universe? Can't it do anything?"

  "Great. A lazy god." Thomas processed the information the goddess gave him. He rubbed his face with both hands in frustration and sighed. "Okay. Fine. I'm just a human," Tom waved both his hands in the air in irritation, "so understanding the dynamics of the caste system of gods and how universes come to be and die is going to be somewhat out of my field of expertise. So I'll let this specific topic drop for now. At least answer me this. Why me? I have no combat training. I'm not a smart person. Why not a soldier? Or a police officer? I'm a nobody."

  "I'm sorry, but waves?"

  "That cataclysmic?"

  "All of them died?"

  "Wait! What happened to the monsters that were summoned?"

  "That's a relief," Tom sighed. "Look I don't think I can be the hero you want me to be. I only got lucky with that cyclops."

  "So luck makes me a hero?" Thomas asked incredulously.

  "I'm supposed to not only protect this world but also fight a demon that even a god can't touch? How do I even stand a chance?"

  "I'm serious, Kara. I'm being given a year to go from my level to that of Hastur. Even going all out, I don't think I can make it."

  "An agent? You serious? I'm not religious. I haven't forgiven you for the test. I don't even know if I like you."

  The question gave Thomas pause. "I don't know how I'll act when it hits the fan... But I want to. I want to be the hero people need."

  "Uh... Thank you."

  A bright light appeared next to Thomas. He fell out of his chair in surprise. Tom felt his heart jump as he feared it was another monster to kill him. To his relief, all that appeared was a blue metal chest.

  Tom walked over to the chest and opened it. Inside were the sword, the cloak and two books, as the goddess had said. He pulled the white cloak out of the chest and said, "Identify."

  'Holy shit, super good stats!' he thought.

  Tom placed the cloak on his table and then took the sword out of the chest. He pulled it out of its scabbard. It wasn't as heavy as he expected. Probably no more than 5 pounds. The sword was straight, double-edged and three feet long. The fuller of the blade had a lightning pattern etched into it. The sword had a black crossguard to separate the blade and blue leather grip. The pommel was black like the crossguard and contained a blue crystal where Tom could see electricity jumping around inside it. He held the sword up and said, "Identify."

  'An amazing weapon!'

  Thomas placed the sword on the table next to his cloak. Finally, he picked up the two books. Both books were bound in a thick leather cover and the text on the cover was written in a language he has never seen in his world. Despite the different language, Thomas could still read what the book titles were.

  'Identify.'

  "Yes," Thomas replied.

  Many images flashed through his mind and left behind a throbbing in his frontal lobe. Tom placed his hand on his forehead and rubbed while he groaned. He waited a moment for the pain to subside. To his surprise, unlike many RPGs or stories with skill books, the book did not disappear after being learned from. He tried to see if maybe he could get more buffs from the book by flipping through the pages but no new notice came up.

  "Why?"

  "Eh, good point. Can someone else use this book to get a buff?"

  "So my skill skips those steps by giving me not only information but understanding."

  "What if I translated information to a language that people of my world can understand? Will this help them get a buff?"

  'I'll add that to a list of things to do.'

  Tom placed the book on the table next to the sword and cloak.

  The experience of using Book Learning was weird to him. In an instant, Tom knew the creatures of Xoth as well as the creatures of his own world. It was alien but familiar at the same time.

  At last, Tom across the last item from the chest. The second book.

  "Yes."

  Just like before, the knowledge of the book flashed through his mind and left a headache.

  'I really hope this skill doesn't give me a brain tumour.'

  "Purify can do that?" Thomas yelled.

  "I think I have an idea how to increase my skill level. Thank you for the items."

  "Inventory."

  Tom picked up the two books and pushed them into the inventory.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Tom nodded and then placed his cloak and sword inside his inventory.

  "Close Inventory." The window disappeared.

  "Could you boost my level really high?" he jest.

  Thomas remembered several extremely important questions. "Is there a level cap? When or how do I get my first class? Can I see a list of the classes I can pick so I can allocate my stat points more efficiently."

  "Let's say I want to swing a sword and cast some spells, as my skills and equipment seem more suited for, what direction should I go?"

  "Awesome. I think that is everything I need to know at the moment."

  The window closed and the chest that was next to Tom vanished in white light. Tom clasped his hands and took a breath before saying, "Skills."

  'Hero's Call Information.'

  Tom jumped from his chair and flung his fist in the air. "The best!" He realized he could travel anywhere in the world. While this would allow him to fight anywhere in the world, he realized he could have a vacation anywhere he wanted. Tom calmed himself and sat back down again to read his skills.

  'Loot Collector Information.'

  'Close window.'

  Tom noted that the skills he had been given are definitely going to aid in his fight against Hastur. He knows what his first step needs to be to ready himself for the future.

  'I have to quit my job tomorrow,' he thought as he got up from the table and moved into the kitchen. With all that had happened, he hadn't noticed his hunger before. The clock on the wall stated the time was 8:45. Thomas took some leeks out of the fridge and pulled out chicken broth and potatoes from nearby cupboards.

  Tom chopped up the leeks and potatoes and placed them in a pot. He poured in the broth and turned on the heat. As the soup heated up, Tom turned on the table tablet. The device was relatively new and was the size of a small kitchen table. The device functioned like a computer. As much as he usually avoided just throwing money about, Thomas had to give the tablet a try. He would use it to read news or watch videos while cooking, and find new recipes to try out.

  What Tom was looking for was any possible news or mentions of anything unusual today. It didn't take long. His news feed was cram-filled with stories.

  "Monster Mayhem"

  "Hundreds Killed In Attacks By ACTUAL Monsters"

  "Is This The Beginning Of The End?"

  "#MonstersAreReal"

  The timer Thomas set went off. He placed the contents of the pot into a blender and blended the soup components into a puree before pouring it back into the pot to heat again. His thoughts went back to the news headlines.

  'Of course some people have witnessed and even recorded some of the monster attacks,' Tom thought. 'Even if a few people were present around a couple of the test takers, it would be enough.'

  Tom read the news. He made sure to note the kinds of creatures others faced. Goblins, harpies, werewolves, golems and many others. Remembering Kara's words, Tom realized that he really was given the toughest monster to fight. The story also mentioned that some of the victims had "psychosis" episodes before they died. The reports stated that these people saw blue windows with the message that monsters were coming.

  People around the world were in a panic over what had happened. It was visible from the news and on social media. No one had any idea what was happening to the world. The news did state that the monsters vanished after a certain amount of time had passed.

  'It had to be when I killed the cyclops,' he concluded.

  Many people came forward with their own interpretations of what happened or why. Many religions and cults came forward stating that this was judgment day and god was unleashing his wrath upon us.

  'God's a lazy fuck in this universe, so don't worry,' Thomas thought harshly.

  There were millionaire preachers on the web doing streams prophesying that the end was coming. They would quickly follow up with that their followers should donate everything they have to the church to ensure their place by God's side.

  'Hope these scumbags are the first to go.'

  Thomas closed tab after tab, removing the frustration from his sight. He needed to remind himself to avoid reading about people like that online. It only made him needlessly angry.

  The next timer went off, signaling that his soup was done. Tom walked over and took a ladle to scoop out his soup and pour it into a bowl.

  "Identify."

  'Cook Information.'

  "Full Status."

  'My new life begins tomorrow,' Thomas asserted.