Chronicle of the Eternal: Volume 1
Read Chronicle of the Eternal: Volume 1 Online
Authors: D Wolfin
Tags: #Virtual Reality, #Romance, #Steampunk, #game, #futuristic, #litRPG, #Fantasy, #guns, #post apocalypse
Copyright
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Any resemblance to
characters, names, locations or incidents are purely coincidental.
Copyright © D. Wolfin 2016
Cover Illustration © Dylan Pierpont 2016
www.dylanpierpont.com
First Edition
Digital Edition © 2014
ISBN:
978-0-9942421-6-7
By making the purchase of this ebook you have been granted
non-exclusive, non-transferable, right to access and read the text of this
ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted,
down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced in any
way without the explicit permission of the author.
of Contents
Chapter
8 – Theore Substructure
.
92
Chapter
10 – Fatherly Advice
.
116
Chapter
12 – Practical ‘Cartography’
130
Chapter
17 – Sense of Excitement
.
192
Chapter
18 – First Inter Academy Tournament
.
204
Side
Story – Tanner’s Story
.
286
A Few Words from the Author
I would like to thank you all
for purchasing my book. Along with Nathan Weinstock, Jack Vanatis, and
genericIntent, the editors who have put in a lot of effort in helping me create
this book. I also want to thank Dylan Pierpont, who created such and incredible
cover illustration for this book.
The idea for this book came to
me well over a year ago, and I have constantly been revising it in my mind
whilst writing End Online. The current story is so different from the initial
concept that I hardly recognize it.
Chronicle of the Eternal was
originally going to be about an NPC in a standard game. He owned a shop in
Theore’s first floor, when one day he walked outside and looked up, wishing he
had more. This gave birth to ambition and a growing self-awareness.
I constantly revised this and then
it became what it is today. I hope you all enjoy it, and expect more to come in
the future.
The next book released will be
End Online Volume 6. I had slowed down writing it over the past month or two
and focused on Chronicle of the Eternal as the image I had for this book has
been much clearer.
I am currently expecting End
Online Volume 6 to be released mid-June.
Regards, D. Wolfin
The blistering midday sun
burns brightly in the sky. A few inky grey clouds hover over the horizon,
bringing news of a coming rain across the cracked wasteland.
Several yellow shrubs sway
in the hot breeze, excited for the water to come. Sparse vegetation and rocky
surfaces extend as far as the towering mountains framing the horizon tens of
miles away.
Mutated beasts, some as
small as rodents and others as large as buildings, wander the land in solitude
or in packs. Several people are in combat with these creatures. The smell of
gunpowder surrounds them as they discharge their weapons at the monsters. From
one person in particular, a vivid blue circular symbol full of complicated
patterns and formulae materializes into the air at his command. This
symbol activates immediately and emits a hazy mist of ice air that slows down
the creatures around the man.
The hunters had emerged
from the nearby city, which does not seem to originate from this world.
Stretching twenty miles wide and forty-seven stories tall, each
level of this city is three thousand feet high, causing the enormous
structure to appear to pierce the heavens themselves.
This is the Grand City
Theore, usually referred to as Grand Theore, one of seventeen Grand Cities
spread throughout this world.
Grand Theore is a
structure of cold steel, copper, and many other metallurgical minerals. Copper
pipes carry steam from subterranean geysers that power turbines throughout the
city. This creates electricity, moisture for the agricultural sector, water for
the people in the city, heat during the sub zero degree nights, and kinetic
energy to keep the city’s various generators functioning.
Silver pipes coated with
mirrored glass on the inside collect the sunlight and reflect it throughout the
interior of the city. This provides natural light throughout the floors of the
city during the day. Mixed amongst some of the silver pipes are copper conduits
from steam powered turbines, powering interior lighting and a few other
constructs that rely on electricity to operate.
The city of Grand Theore
has numerous valves sticking out like branches, each as wide around as the trunk
of an ancient world tree. They release the excess pressure from the city’s
steam pipe network and eject it into the sky. The steam then disperses in the
hot air around the city and causes clouds to form and gather around the distant
mountains where the temperature is cooler. Once a month, the clouds become
heavy enough that they start to rain and move back down the mountain, returning
to offer a cool respite to the Grand City.
Deep within Grand Theore,
there is a young boy walking down several small alleys and avoiding the main
thoroughfares. The boy is fourteen this year, and it is his first day attending
his new school: Bluemist Academy. It is compulsory to attend an academy the
year each child turns fourteen, where they will study for the next four years.
His home is exactly two
miles from Bluemist Academy, one of the twenty academies on Grand Theore’s
first floor, so he leaves his house an hour and a half before needing to be
there to ensure he arrives on time.
Short black hair covers
his head in an unkempt mess. Anyone would assume this boy to be extremely
apathetic if not for his unwavering, crystal-blue eyes. He wears a brown
tattered shirt with several short brass buckles pulling the sleeves tight
against his arms. His pants are as black as night, which helps conceal the
wrinkles they are covered in.
He is only 4 foot 5 inches
tall, allowing him to easily pass under the copper steam pipes powering the
nearby residences, without having to lower his head. In front of the boy floats
a translucent map of the city, highlighting the path to his destination.
He avoids the main roads
to prevent unnecessary trouble. Unfortunately, he isn’t able to travel the
entire way to the academy through the back alleys and has to use the main
thoroughfare at some point.
“Oi, you’re that god
damned Soulless kid aren’t you? The hell do you think you’re doing here?” A
gruff middle-aged man notices the boy in the street and calls out in disgust.
The boy looks at the man
without anger or humiliation and unhesitatingly replies, “I’m on my way my
academy, sir.”
“Ridiculous! They
shouldn’t let someone like you even dream of going to an academy.” The man
spits on the ground with an exaggerated motion and walks away.
“What? He’s a Soulless?
Disgusting, he should just go straight to the Temple of Death.” The person next
to the boy takes a few steps away as if the boy is contagious.
The boy doesn’t show any
reaction to the man’s gruff words and continues walking.
This is what it means to
be Soulless. A person that is said to have no soul and lacks some of the
crucial factors that make up a person’s individuality. The boy quickens his
pace as he leaves the area to ensure he is not late for his first day at
Bluemist Academy.
A half hour later,
the boy arrives in front of the academy he has been designated to attend.
He received the
notification a week ago, which included a compilation of information regarding
the academy system and deposited all the items he would need into his personal
inventory.
The academy is a large building
of silver, steel and copper plates. At the top of the central building is a
clock tower, twisted copper hands on the clock reveal the time to be 8:40am.
The boy enters the front gate twenty minutes early, exactly the amount of time
he will need to register with attendance and arrive to class on time.
Multiple boys and girls,
all fourteen years old, filter in through the entrance of the academy. Each and
every one is being supervised by their parents. Only the boy who was called a
Soulless earlier is alone.
The boy easily merges with
the line of people and awaits his turn to enter the building. The line appears
to be long, but the speed at which students are processed and sent to their
respective classes is extremely efficient. Ten minutes pass and the boy is
standing in front of the admittance desk inside the building.
“You are.. Regal Havier.”
The short, blonde haired woman sitting behind the desk brings up a translucent
screen with the boys information. The screen shows the status page for the boy.
Name:
Regal Havier
Age:
14
Level:
1
Nxt
Level:
0%
Health:
100/100
Mana:
100/100
Stamina:
50/50
Class:
None
Str:
10
Dex:
10
Agi:
10
End:
10
Int:
10
Lck:
10
Martial
Skills:
None
Alchemy
Skills:
None
Crafting
Skills:
None
Misc
Skills:
Future Sight - Lv.100 - Mastered 11
th
Tier (
Foresight
)
Passive Buffs:
None
“Hrmm,” the lady doing the
admittance for new student suddenly frowns, “You have no skills other than a
single miscellaneous skill that I’ve never heard of. It appears to be your
inherent skill. What have you been doing the past seven years?”
Regal can tell that the
question isn’t meant to be answered. He waits patiently as she opens another
translucent window. This new page contains Regal’s personal history, which can
only be accessed by someone of her occupation.
“Both your parents are…
This is complicated. They both entered the eternal rest and left you alone
seven years ago. You’re also a Soulless, so you probably don’t even feel
anything about this.”
The woman frowns upon
reading the history of Regal Havier, a hint of scorn in her eyes. What she says
isn’t entirely true. While he wasn’t as emotional as anyone else would have
been, silent tears fell down his face while reading the farewell note his
parent left saying they have decided to enter the eternal rest. This was the
most emotionally charged state he had ever been in.
Regal didn’t become
homeless after his parents entered the eternal rest. As he hadn’t graduated
from an academy, he did not need to pay the single gold of the yearly city tax
and was permitted by the city guard to stay in his home until he graduated from
an academy.
Regal’s parents also
left him with enough money to live peacefully for the next ten or so
years. He took over maintaining and cleaning the small house while supporting
himself. He had no indecision about this fact, only seeing what needed to be
done and doing it.
“Soulless, you will go to
the fourth classroom. Find any free seat and sit there. I am already behind
schedule so make haste.” The woman abruptly brushes Regal off and attends to
the next student.
“Yes, ma’am,” Regal nods
toward the lady and follows his map toward the fourth classroom.
The classroom is already
half full. The new students are laughing cheerfully with one another as they
form their own social circles. Each and every student wears a similar brown
shirt with the sleeves buckled tight and black pants. The only difference is
that their uniforms are in much better condition than Regal’s.
When Regal enters, nobody
pays particular attention to him as he finds an open seat in the middle of the
room. Several children look toward him as he sits down, but no one comes up to
invite him into their newly formed circle of friends.
Regal’s new classmates
don’t know he is a Soulless, but because of the unkempt hair and clothes, the
other classmates find Regal’s appearance quite odd and out of place.
Regal Havier’s clothes
were in good condition last week when he received the notification to attend Bluemist
Academy. They are only in their current state because he tried them on to go
for a walk around the city and ended up being cornered and beaten by
people who were aware of his status as a Soulless, damaging his uniform in the
process.
New students gradually
filter in through the classroom door. Some select the seats nearest the
windows, others choosing a seat at random.
The bell rings at exactly
9:00am, and by this point the class is full with a total of thirty students. Bluemist
Academy has exactly four classrooms, each with an equal number of students.
This means that in the entire academy there are currently 120 students.
Shortly after the bell, a
teacher walks in and quiets the class with the raise of his hand. The teacher
has a bandana the color of rust, long black hair extending beyond his shoulders,
and pitch black eyes that seem to suck in the surrounding light. He wears a
long overcoat of grey leather, which is adorned by several brass studs on his
cuffs and lapel.
“Good morning students. I
am Julius River, your teacher for the next four years. You can refer to me as
Mr. River,” Julius speaks lazily as though he is overcome with exhaustion. “I
am a level 154 Flame Alchemist.”
His introduction as a
Flame Alchemist causes a commotion of excited whispering in the classroom. The
students only become silent when an alchemical circle materializes in the air
next to him and creates a small explosion.
“We will all begin with
introducing ourselves and our future goals. You, at the front of the class. You
can begin.”
A petite red haired girl
at the front of the classroom stands up and begins her introduction, “Good
morning, my name is Piora Flameheart. I hope to be a great Flame Alchemist just
like our teacher one day.”
“Tristran Maple. I hope to
become the best GunSmith in Grand Theore.”
“Gertrude Tanner. I wish
to open my own restaurant and become famous.”
“Hazel Marquis. I love the
dignity of water and ice alchemy.”
“Fredrick Dennen. Martial
Gun Wielder.”
“Kopis Numen…”
“Quaz Rimuris…”
…