Short Story Stubs

No Slumber

Jacob Altair, born in a small village in a world like our own though set in European medieval times where magic exists, has always wanted to be an adventurer like his parents. He took up the Sword under his mother's tutelage and simple magic from his father. As Jacob ages, every year on his birthday, he would feel a darkness overcome him. Not a scary, mean darkness but a warm and embracing darkness until on his 15th birthday, as he is finally fully consumed by the darkness in his dream, his mother and father wake him yelling "Get up!" Startling awake, Jacob feels the word bounce around the inside of his head with a satisfying ding once it stops.

Jacob is now a legal adult and is kicked out of his village partially due to his parents' finances and to hopefully strike it rich becoming an adventurer. Jacob travels for a few months,killing monsters when necessary. Jacob arrives at the village and despite being exhausted, dashes straight towards the adventurers guild, applying for a license. During the license examination, he is required to show his skills to others through an inspection orb. An orb that displays statistics much like an RPG (Role-Playing Game). He finds out he has two unique skills. One is "Eternal Waking" and the second is "Shadow Blanket."

With his newfound knowledge of possessing 2 unique skills, he tests them out. Shadow Blanket appears to summon a quilt made of shadow that emanates a warm glow. It cannot be torn, ripped, or sheared. It is a blanket created from the user's magic reserves as a physical magic object that cannot be replicated. Jacob is confused at "Eternal Waking" however, as he fell asleep many times before and found himself drifting to sleep during his self-reflection. Jacob brushes the thought aside as he's tired and is very excited to acquire his first request from the guild.

Jacob, being a low-tier adventurer, cannot complete tasks deemed too difficult for him as it would weigh heavily on guild clerks, masters, and companies alike. So Jacob accepts the request to slay goblins, a seemingly slow-witted, but dangerous monster. Jacob tracks down the goblin horde and strikes when the time is right. Jacob slashes and stabs through the horde of goblins until he feels a large, menacing monster, approaching him. Before Jacob can react, he is pierced through the heart and slain. Jacob's body lays, lifeless with a sword wound through hischest. Jacob hears a voice echo in his head, getting increasingly louder and louder each time it echos, "Get up! Get up! GET UP!" With a jolt, Jacob rises to his feet, wrapped with his shadow blanket all cozy, and truly does not recollect what happened to him after he had slain all the goblins.

And that is just the beginning of how Jacob Altair, The Undefeated, became humanity's greatest adventurer.