The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 4: Forced expenditure. (Part 2)

The shopfront itself was bare. A long counter with nothing to show. The shelves dusty and only filled by the occasional book or uncared for document. Upon entering, most would really think the store abandoned or supposed to be closed. I folded my arms and waited several minutes until finally a large dwarven man ambled through the back door to the counter. Wrinkled and bold with a roughly shaven beard about an inch thick. As dwarves went, he suited the part. He was however tall, standing at close to 160cm. For a naturally stocky race, he was a mass of muscle, though layered on top with a hearty fattening.

"What do ya need?" he grumbled. "Yar free to purchase anything ya see."

I couldn't help but smile, "Blint Soulseerer?"

"That be mah name," Blint grunted, a shine however entered his eyes. "Did someone send ya mah way?"

"Not so much sent me, but I did come to Teremire to meet you."

"Well if ya know mah Keepsname then ya know what service I offer," he barked a short laugh and pointed to the seat across the counter. "Take a sit."

I did as I was told. Talking to an NPC like this, you would think it was a real person. While most NPCs on the street didn't give much dialogue, those like Blint also existed. They were entirely based on existing people. Not so much coded but copied from their real person and implanted in their real roles throughout Areithia. After all, Areithia Online was an experiment to see how we reacted to their world and people. Blint himself would not remember every conversation he'd have in the game, but a transcript of sorts was always given to those in his situation.

"Now if ya've come here, ya want soul seeing," he rubbed his hands together. "Let me warn ya, some may disagree with what I see. I pride mahself on mah accuracy, but it is yar choice if you accept it."

"Of course," I replied simply and offered my hands face up. In one hand he placed his own and the other a heavy black stone. Blint closed his eyes, only for them to open once again, pure white and shining. An electric sensation coursed through my palm, cycling around my body before reaching the black stone where light began to gather.

"I have seen your soul." Blint's rough accent vanished. "You are not one for any path, nor will great lengths of any one magic suit you. You are a drifter. To dabble in many but master none. Only your determination and ingenuity will guide your results." He closed his eyes once more and upon opening them, the usual thick brown eyes classic to his lineage returned. "Ah, sorry it's been awhile since I've seen a shit path like that." His accent returned.

I smiled with bitter nostalgia. Nothing had changed. Blint Soulseerer, was a rare dwarf shaman of sorts. He could read a person's soul and from that suggest what path they should take and what magic would suit them. In current time he wasn't known by players, but later would be seen often as his predictions quite accurately led to players finding a playstyle they enjoyed the most. His advice in the game was just that, a suggestion of how to enjoy your time. As a game, you could do whatever you pleased. In reality however, what Blint foretold wasn't a simple suggestion, but your true to the world talents.

In other words, I had no talent in any field. I was a jack of all trades but a master of none. In the game I had played the same, never sticking to one role but trying everything. When the world's merged however, when things became real, myself like many others felt limitations. Suddenly players found they could use some magic a lot better than others. Unlike a game, sometimes people were just better than others from birth. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Blint was a person who could tell you that.