If Dave wasn"t reading the ma.s.sive tome from inside of his inventory he would have fallen off his chair. For the last few years Dave hadn"t actually spent that much time in the Qian continent. Once he had grasped the spoken language and decided to shift his focus to the written language he had entered Tianzhu less and less. Of course, it was good to go there every now and then in order to keep the spoken language fresh in his mind. Additionally he had to go and ask Old Guan, a friendly elder whom lived in the slums, about the characters every now and then.Old Guan seemed to have been a scholar in his youth but had fallen out of favour with the son of the Prefectural Governor whom he served. Of course, reliving the same day and meeting Old Guan for the first time over and over again didn"t give Dave any insight into the old man"s background. Instead he had pieced it together from asking other people about Old Guan when he had heard about a man in the slums who helped children learn to read and write in the hopes of them leading a better life. Dave had a very good opinion of Old Guan and vowed to himself that if he ever had the chance he would help him out.
Dave was a little confused as to why he would level up Speech from reading. The only plausible reason that occurred to him was that he had finally learned the entirety of the core language of the Qian continent. There were always going to be words that he didn"t know and that even Old Guan may be unable to recognise. Such was the vastness of a language that was spoken in an entire continent for over three thousand years.
What was more important was that Dave had leveled up an attribute through his own diligence! He could faintly sense that he had an even better grasp of the language than he had before the level up. Even his knowledge of French and English had deepened considerably... Maybe if he raised his speech level even further he could become an omniglot? To Dave, it would be amazing if he could go to any part of the world and be able to communicate fluently with the locals there.
Speech aside, since he was able to level up one of his attributes he must be able to level up others. The problem was that he had no idea what attributes he had apart from the ones in his constellation menu. The menu had already proved that it occasionally differed from the game. Dave wished their was a way he could view his status and tried to remember if there were ever any ways to do that in the game.
"Stat Control Panel!" it suddenly hit him that the pilot had used this mod to admire his absurdly inflated stats in the past.
*escape*
Dave scrolled through to the mod configuration section and there he found it: Stat Control Panel. Once he entered the menu he saw a huge amount of information. Dave didn"t have any intention of modifying his stats like the pilot would have done, at least not in this life, so he skimmed through the list only noting the attribute names for the time being. A few of them caught his eye as they were certainly not in Skyrim. As he looked through the list he also noticed that his Speech attribute that had just leveled up was absent. Somewhat confused he looked through the list again and discovered that it had apparently been renamed to "Communication". He hopped into his skills menu to confirm it in the constellations and it had indeed been renamed yet all the Ordinator perks remained unchanged.
Dave had lived years worth of time with the console but he still felt that he had barely scratched the surface of its capabilities. An idea now occurred to him. Could he live an entire life on the world of the Qian continent? Could he walk the path of a martial artist? Could he walk the path of the Dao that he had read about in those fantasy novels? Suddenly, an even bolder idea popped into his head. What if he could live multiple lives concurrently? As far as Dave was concerned his current "main" life was here on earth and he wouldn"t cheat at all in his "main playthrough" aside from the small things he had been doing so far that made life extremely convenient. He would see where the future would take him as a normal guy. In the other worlds Dave would give himself a little more license to cheat if the circ.u.mstances called for it but he would mostly try to live his life to the limits. After all, the thrill of life was to be found on the bleeding edge! Dave needed to experience all of life. Both the comedy and the tragedy were what made life worth living.
*******************
Dave thought long and hard about how he would live his other lives and settled on a few rules:
- No save/load unless he, personally, was about to die.
- No modding stats apart from during his "Character Creation" phase.
- Sp.a.w.ning items should be done rarely and with careful consideration.
- No teleporting with the console outside of emergencies.
- Total immersion. Once a new life had begun it was to be lived until he was about to die.
Basically Dave had formulated his own "hardcore mode". Dave had no idea how many years he would live before he returned to his "main" life in Toronto but he knew that when he returned it would be to his save from this morning. Dave recalled a scene from xianxia novels where characters were forced to undergo thousands of reincarnations in the cycle of Samsara and would either return stronger or become lost in them. He couldn"t help but get nervous when he realised that he was pretty much about to subject himself to the same scenario willingly. Who knew what his new life would bring him? He could only see for himself.
*******************
*~* [coc SecludedGroveTianzhuSGate] *return*
[save QianCharacterCreation] *return*
[showracemenu] *return* *~*
Dave found himself looking at his own image. His pilot had used the RaceMenu mod so Dave had access to extremely detailed customization options. He first selected his Race as Tongnin which was the most common race in the Qian continent. Next he regressed his age to that of around a five year old boy before going to work on sculpting his features. He wanted to make himself handsome in this life! He mentally coughed awkwardly when he got to the "Genital" customization tab. Although he was currently a five year old and wouldn"t need his little brother for a good few years, Dave couldn"t help but add a little to the overall dimensions of his sleeping dragon. It was only proper that he prepare for the future after all...
Once Dave was done he looked at the handsome young boy version of himself in the menu. He was quite satisfied with his creation! Of course, he couldn"t resist making subtle changes to the standard racial traits of the Tongnin. He made his hair a little more towards a deep red than standard black and made his iris colour a vibrant emerald green instead of the standard deep brown. Since he was finally happy with his character it was time to rename himself.
*********************
A handsome young boy stood naked in a secluded grove of trees outside of Tianzhu. He looked down at himself and smiled goofily before slightly ragged looking clothes made from relatively fine cloth appeared on his body. This boy with almost luminous emerald green eyes and a reddish tint to his black hair bent down and scooped up some dirt which he patted on his face and clothes. This boy was named Ma Sa. His parents had died whilst trying to help him escape from bandits on the road to Tianzhu. A piece of parchment and a writing brush and inkpot appeared on the ground before Ma Sa. The boy picked up the brush and pondered for a moment before writing a letter to Guan Yuang Fei in a hurried script. With his preparations complete, Ma Sa set off to the north along the road to the southern gate of Tianzhu.
Ma Sa queued up behind a merchant caravan and childishly struck up a conversation with one of the mercenary guards.
"Mister, you look strong! How do I get strong like you?"
"Haha kid what do you need to be strong for? Getting strong is hard work, you know? You can worry about it when you get older. Just enjoy being a kid a little longer." the guard smiled at the kid. He looked around and saw a young couple nearby. "I"m sure your parents would agree with me, you shouldn"t be in such a rush." He smiled at the boy and winked at the couple who looked at each other questioningly.
Ma Sa sullenly looked at the ground as his lips twitched, "If I was strong like you my parents would still be here." Ma Sa tried his best to look like he was on the verge of tears.
The guard, Lin Gu, felt his face redden as he looked back over at the young couple and then back to the boy. He realized that he had been wrong in his a.s.sumptions. It was a really awkward situation as he didn"t really know what to say to the boy.
"Err... Kid, what happened?" he finally asked with dread.
The emotions that the boy had apparently been trying to contain suddenly burst out for only a second or two before he reigned them in again. In a shaking voice that was struggling to remain even Ma Sa recounted the story of bandits killing his father and forcing his mother to suicide whilst they were on the road to the prefectural capital. All his father had managed to do before the bandits broke through their guards" ranks was to write a letter and give it to him. He told him to hand it to a scholar named Guan Yuang Fei in Ryujing city.
"Eh, Guan Yuang Fei you said? I don"t know if he"s the one you"re looking for but there"s a man named Guan Yuang Fei here in Tianzhu. I believe he is also a former scholar who moved here from Ryujing a few years ago. I"ll take you to him later on."
"Really?? You know Guan Yuang Fei? Mister please help me find him!" Ma Sa bent ninety degrees at the waist and clasped his hands towards the guard.
"Kid there"s no need for that! I"ll help you don"t you worry. I"m Lin Gu by the way. Just call me big brother Lin Gu, okay?" Lin Gu truly felt sorry for the kid in front of him. Little did he know that the kid before him was apologizing to him in his heart for misleading him.
Seeing Ma Sa nod and call him "Big brother Lin Gu", Lin Gu smiled with satisfaction. It was their turn to enter the gate and he payed the entrance fee for his new little brother.
"I have to go to headquarters and pick up my pay for the mission first. After I"m done I"ll take you to see Old Guan so you can deliver your letter. Hopefully he is the one you"re looking for. Come with me for now. You can wait outside headquarters while I finish up my business. It shouldn"t take me too long."
"Ok." Ma Sa nodded and followed Lin Gu obediently. An hour later he was standing outside of Old Guan"s residence in the slums.
*******************
Lin Gu knocked on the door and called out for Old Guan. Moments later, the familiar white hair and deeply wrinkled face of Old Guan appeared at the door. He looked at Lin Gu and then at the child beside him. He couldn"t help but let his gaze linger on the child for a while as the boy"s clear emerald eyes were rather unusual.
"Old Guan, do you mind if we come in for a while? I wish to introduce this kid to you."
Old Guan looked at Lin Gu and nodded. He motioned for them to enter. Ma Sa and Lin Gu followed Old Guan into his residence. It was a small s.p.a.ce but it was kept meticulously clean. A few books were stacked on the table.
"Do forgive me, I can"t offer you any tea as money is a little hard to come by in my current situation." Old Guan apologised before asking their business.
"This here is Ma Sa. He lost his parents to bandits on the road. They were heading to the capital to find a teacher for him. Before his death, the kid"s father handed him a letter and told him to seek out a scholar named Guan Yuang Fei in the capital. When he told me this I immediately thought of you, Old Guan. I recalled you came from Ryujing a few years ago and hoped that you might be the scholar that the kid was looking for." Lin Gu related the tale that Ma Sa had spun him at the gate. When he was done, Old Guan once again looked at the child seated opposite him.
Ma Sa reached into the breast of his clothes and produced a letter on grubby parchment. He handed it to Old Guan and waited while the old man read it:
--
Honored Scholar Guan Yuang Fei,
I hope that this letter finds you well along with my son. My wife and I love him dearly. We have never met but I have long heard your name. I know that it is improper of me to ask such a thing from you when we have never met but this is the only option I have left at my disposal. If you are reading this it means that I, Ma Han Su, am dead. As I write this, bandits are a.s.saulting our caravan and I intend to send Ma Sa to you in the hopes that you will show him the kindness and compa.s.sion that you are famed for across the continent. My boy is very clever despite his young age. If you can teach him, or even find another teacher for him, my wife and I will be able to rest well in the afterlife. I implore you to take good care of my boy! Please! He will surely grow into a fine young man who will repay your kindness a thousand fold. I am sending my son away with a family treasure now. I hope he will find you and I hope you will listen to my selfish request.
Yours Faithfully,
Ma Han Su
--
Old Guan had a complicated expression on his face as he finished reading the letter. What would drive a parent to so desperately pin their hopes on a stranger they had never met? Old Guan had never fathered any children of his own as his wife had died before they were able to conceive. He had never remarried as he felt that since they had made the promise to love each other alone forever he needed to honor it.
Once again he looked at the small boy sitting opposite him. A wry smile crept onto his lips as he realized that there was no way his wife"s ghost would let him sleep at night if he turned the boy away.
"Alright. Ma Sa?"
Dave looked at Old Guan through Ma Sa"s eyes as he bowed towards the old scholar. "Yes Elder. This little one is named Ma Sa."
"Hmmph! What "Elder"? Greet your new teacher boy!" Old Guan couldn"t help but let out a grin at the startled look on the boy"s face.
Ma Sa hurriedly left his seat and knelt on the ground before Old Guan. Kowtowing three times, Ma Sa loudly said "Ma Sa greets Teacher!" as was the style in the Qian continent.
"Hmmph! Good! Good good good! Raise your head child. You are now my student and I will do my best to teach you from now on. I have little here but I will make sure you have a roof over your head and ensure you won"t starve. I do, however, expect repayment in the future in the form of you becoming a student I can take pride in. Work hard!"
"Yes Teacher! I will!" replied Ma Sa.
Finally the first stage of his plan was pa.s.sed without a hitch! The next phase was to find out about martial arts. As a formerly high ranked scholar to the Prefectural Governor Old Guan was actually a hidden dragon. During the zombie outbreak, many children of the slums had survived due to Old Guan"s fearsome strength and selfless defense of his domain. Now, all that was left for "Ma Sa" to do was to work hard enough that Old Guan would recognize his value. Once he had shown enough talent for studying he could bring up his desire to get stronger and, hopefully, Old Guan would open up the path for him to learn martial arts.
Lin Gu, Old Guan, and Ma Sa sat and chatted for a while before Lin Gu excused himself. He was going to meet two of his friends in a tavern to drink up a storm. When it was just the two of them left, Old Guan mentioned to Ma Sa that his father had said that he was clever in his letter. He wanted to test Ma Sa"s apt.i.tude towards learning.
"Can you read?" asked Old Guan.
"Yes Teacher. My Father taught me to read and to write."
"Oh, very good! Then..." Old Guan handed Ma Sa a book ent.i.tled "A Detailed Compendium of The Flora of Qian". "I want you to read the first chapter and write a summary of what you learned for me to check. Can you do it?"
"I will do my best Teacher!" replied Ma Sa. He had, in fact, already read this book before and was very familiar with the dry contents. His teacher must have chosen this book to get an understanding of his student"s att.i.tude towards studying. As Dave, Ma Sa had lived the same day over and over again over a thousand times and read hundreds, if not thousands, of books in his inventory. This task was nothing at all to him.
"Good, here is some parchment and writing tools. These will be your welcome gift for entering my tutelage. I"m sorry it cannot be something more. I"ll have to go out and buy some extra food for dinner." After handing Ma Sa the items, Old Guan turned to leave.
"Teacher!" called Ma Sa, causing his teacher to halt and turn back. "My father also gave me something else to give to you if you agreed to take me in as your student..." Ma Sa paused as he once again reached into the breast of his clothing. Old Guan"s eyes nearly popped out as he watched his student draw out thirty gold coins one after the other. This was enough money to feed and house three hundred families for a year! Old Guan had many questions but he kept them to himself. The answers would come naturally with time. He wasn"t a stranger to money as he had once held a very high position in society himself. He would think about how best to spend or invest the money later. For now he would go and get some ingredients for dinner.
"Thank you, your father was a smart man to only allow you to reveal the money after I had taken you in. Work hard to complete that summary. I"ll see how you"re getting on once I get back." Old Guan smiled at the child with moist eyes. With the money Ma Sa had given him it could be possible for him to open up a school in the slums and educate the kids there to a brighter future. There was a little extra spring in the old man"s step as he made his way to the market.
Dave set to work on his task of writing a summary and reflected on how difficult it was to maintain character as Ma Sa. It was only the first day so far. He imagined that it would get much easier over time. He was never much of an actor but who knows, maybe the console or system would help him level up his acting skill in the future? This was only the first day of the rest of his life. He was excited to see where this path would take him!